The Lone Ranger Series
by Solo Ensemble
Summary: [Liason COMPLETE]: A fun, easy, Liasoninhigh school story.
1. The Lone Ranger Rides Again

Note: A silly high school story because everyone's gotta do one of these sooner or later just to get it out of the system.

* * *

**The Lone Ranger Rides Again**

Brenda Barrett whooped as the last bell rang, jumping up from her seat and fairly flying out of her 10th period AP Psychology class. Ms. Purdy, the tall wide brunette somehow strapped with teaching the class, rolled her eyes.

"Geez, you'd think her pants were on fire or something," she commented to the rest of the students, who were now gathering their things and leaving.

Elizabeth Webber laughed, still sitting in her seat. Lauren "Petey" Pietras, the loud-mouth captain of the varsity softball team, remained in the seat next to her. Behind Lauren, tiny Jessica Kim stretched out languidly, her short, silky jet-black hair falling in her face.

It was no secret that out of all of Elizabeth's classes, she was most comatose in Psychology. She didn't know why. Maybe it was because it was the last period and after a long day, she wanted nothing more than a fifty-minute-nap in a cold, hard, uncomfortable wooden desk. Or perhaps it was the fact that after eighth period, her hasty lunch of fruit and yogurt needed to be digested. Or perhaps it was the fact that the class was simply mindless: the entire period's activities consisted of talking about Ms. Purdy's toddler, Bobby's weekend "trips", or doing asinine surveys in the teen scene magazines.

Whatever the reason, it was always hard for her to get up after the period ended. And some of her friends felt the same way. So, while everyone else made a beeline for their lockers so they could get to the parking lot and off the campus before the rush, Elizabeth, Lauren, and Jessica remained in their seats.

Actually, that wasn't the whole truth. Jessica had a reason to get up: she had someone actually _waiting _for her.

Turning around, Elizabeth smiled at David Hsieh, the tall, black-haired, nerdy-yet-_sooooo-_hot captain of the math team. He was one of the first guys she'd talked to when she had transferred to PC High during sophomore year, and she considered him a good friend.

She watched as David lamely shook a still-dozing Jessica. "Come on, Jess," he said, poking her shoulder. "We have to get to Math Team practice."

Jessica looked up at him, her eyes still hazy with sleep. Mumbling, she stooped to pick up her backpack.

"You look tired, Jess," Elizabeth noted. "You okay?"

Jessica nodded, pulling her short hair back only to have it slip right back into her face. "Yeah. It's just been a busy week." She turned to her boyfriend, lightly smacking him on the shoulder as he moved toward the door. "I have to stop off at Orchestra…"

Lauren and Elizabeth watched them go, neither of them moving. Ms. Purdy abandoned her leather stool and waddled toward her desk, pulling her curly auburn locks into a ponytail.

Lauren was the first to stand up, pulling up her cream-colored hemp pants as she did. Her thick chocolate hair fell halfway down her back, and Elizabeth reached out to twirl a piece between her fingers. She played with it for a moment as Lauren grabbed her backpack, finally relinquishing it and grabbing her own Psych book.

"I should probably get up," she mumbled, slowly pulling herself into a standing position. "It's about that time."

"You say that every day," Lauren remarked, shrugging her backpack into a more comfortable position on her back. She carefully tugged her long hair out from underneath the thick straps. "And you never say what you mean by it."

Elizabeth smirked, tugging on one of her own two braids. Balancing her heavy book on her head, she turned to look at the clock. 2:43. Three minutes after the bell. Yup, it was definitely _that _time.

"I don't mean anything by it, Lauren," she assured, walking toward the door. "Just that it's _that _hypothetical time."

Waving to Ms. Purdy, Elizabeth stepped into the cool hallway, pretending not to notice Lauren's quizzical glare in her direction.

"You're not a very good liar, Webber," she remarked dryly, flipping one of the smaller brunette's braids. "And I'll find out what you mean by that one of these days."

"Oh, really," Elizabeth drawled playfully. "How, pray tell?"

"Oh, you'll see, Webber," Lauren retorted with a grin. "I have my ways."

The two friends began to walk the few yards to their lockers, still bantering. Reaching her locker, Elizabeth toyed with the combination lock, waiting for the familiar loud voices ascending the stairwell.

"_And I had a dream there were…_" Lauren began, singing a new song for their daily after school duet.

"_Clouds in my coffee, clouds in my coffee, and.." _Elizabeth finished with a smile, opening her locker.

It had become a tradition of theirs; every day as they left their third floor Psychology class and ambled the seven feet to their lockers, they came up with a song to sing. Sometimes it was the theme to the _Flintstones_, and sometimes it was Tom Jones – the singer, not the 900-page novel by Henry Fielding. And today, it was Carly Simon.

Loud laughter met her ears and Elizabeth glanced sideways at the stairwell. Anticipation made her heart thud loudly, and she couldn't help but let a soft sigh escape her lips even as she sang.

Walking up the staircase like Hercules ascending from Hell, or rather 10th period AP Calculus, was Jason Morgan. Wearing his trademark green shorts with a white button down shirt – nothing underneath – Jason looked as if he were ready to be lounging around at the park on a long summer day, not freezing to death in a 10 degrees Kelvin school with a freshly fallen shroud of snow outside.

Amandeep Sangha, a tall dark-haired basketball player, shoved Jason up the stairs as Josh Minohl tousled his hair. Jason laughed good-naturedly, pretending to swing his Calculus book at his track teammate's head. They dispersed at the top of the stairs, promising to meet up before tonight's basketball game for some pre-victory sandwiches at the local high school hangout, Kelly's.

Jason's friends departed, leaving him at the top of the stairwell. The light from the snow outside cast brilliantly onto the gleaming linoleum, casting a natural – and blinding – spotlight all around the young man. He fiddled with some Calculus handouts, shoving them into his book before balancing it on his head, just like Elizabeth did, and resuming the walk to his locker.

Elizabeth blushed slightly, feeling awkward for watching him. She fiddled with the blue combination lock in her hand, miraculously managing to keep up with Lauren's singing.

"_You're so vain." _Elizabeth's rich, melodic voice joined her friend's lower pitch. "_You probably think this song is about you, you're so vain…"_

Lauren looked sideways toward the stairwell, nodding at her friend Jason and noticing the way he glanced quickly at Elizabeth while the oblivious little brunette sang on. With a smirk, Lauren blew a kiss to the cardboard cutout of Peter Frampton taped inside her locker before slamming the beige door shut and locking it.

She waited for Elizabeth, watching as her friend stuffed her AP Calculus notebook in her cream-colored backpack, along with her copy of _Tom Jones._ She fished her graphing calculator out from among the random papers and textbooks, dropping it in alongside her novel.

The last thing to come out of the cream-colored locker was Elizabeth's prized tin lunch box. While some seniors preferred to leave campus and eat lunch at Kelly's and others preferred to brown-bag it, a choice few still favored their lunch boxes. Most had colorful cloth lunch boxes, insulated contraptions that kept their soda cold and their soup warm.

But Elizabeth had her Lone Ranger lunch box. It was blue and red and made of tin, with lassos and bullets on the sides. A hot pink handle at the top matched the lettering that proclaimed "The Lone Ranger" above a picture of Clayton Moore, disguised and armed, standing firm next to a boulder. She had purchased the lunch box off of an online auction site, and it cost her twelve dollars including shipping and handling. After several months of regular – but careful – use, the lunch box came to be as key a part to Elizabeth's image around school as the two long braided pigtails only she could manage to pull off.

Finished packing her books, the brunette stood up and locked her locker. Lauren waited patiently as Elizabeth adjusted her khaki hip huggers. They fit her well but were a tad loose at the waist, which was probably why she was perpetually tugging on them. She grabbed the hem of her dark green turtleneck sweater, pulling it down over her pants. As Lauren waited, Elizabeth adjusted her necklace, a small, carved wooden elephant head with blue beads on two suede strings.

Lauren grabbed Elizabeth's backpack from the floor, offering it to her. Elizabeth smiled and slung it over her shoulders, pulling her two braided pigtails out from under the straps.

"Ready to go?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Yup." The two started to walk down the hallway, still humming along to Carly Simon.

"You coming to the basketball game tonight?" Lauren asked as they passed a group of underclassmen frantically trying to scurry out of the senior hall. Being the captain of the softball and volleyball team, as well as a former member of the girls' basketball team, Lauren was all about athletics. Elizabeth, on the other hand, wasn't.

But the little brunette nodded anyway, smiling as her friend Michael jogged up the stairs and waved to her before racing off to his girlfriend's locker. "Yeah, I'm coming," she replied.

Lauren whooped, attracting a few glances and several _Oh-Petey_ smiles. "Yeah, Beth! It's about time."

Elizabeth grinned, shaking her head. "Yeah, well. Amandeep practically begged me to, so I couldn't say no."

"Gotta love that Amandeep," sighed the ever-boy-crazy Lauren. "He's hot."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, scoffing.

Her disbelief didn't go unnoticed by Lauren. "What?" she asked, flipping her hair indignantly.

Elizabeth glared pointedly at her. "Lauren," she began in a mock-scolding tone. "I'd be more inclined to take your '_he's so hot_' opinions seriously if you didn't say that about everyone."

"I _don't_ say that about everyone," Lauren grinned, denying the allegation even though she recognized it as the truth.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes again despite smiling. "Lauren, you thought Edison was hot, remember? _Thomas Edison._"

"So?" Lauren challenged. "He _was_ pretty hot when he was young."

Elizabeth threw her hands in the air. "Lauren!" she exclaimed. "That picture you saw was taken five years prior to his death!"

Lauren laughed, knowing she was caught. It was true; she was slightly boy-crazy, but that didn't mean that she labeled just _anyone_ hot. "I don't care – Amandeep's still hot."

Elizabeth laughed. "I guess." She smiled at Ed Baer, who barely managed to look up from his thick AP Biology book in time to keep from colliding with Matt Bulman's open locker. "What are you doing after school today?"

"Lifting," Lauren replied without missing a beat. "Have to get ready for softball season. Tryouts are two weeks away."

The girls passed by Jason's locker, where the slender yet still muscular blonde was pulling on his wool cap while trying to sidekick Brendan Mahoney. Lauren called out to him, smacking his backpack, and Jason smiled back.

Glancing down at the brunette who only came halfway up her elbow, Lauren smirked knowingly. She'd had her suspicions for a while, but every day it just seemed to become more and more obvious: Elizabeth was completely into the track star. Her friend didn't glance in Jason's direction even as Lauren called out hello to him, choosing instead to preoccupy herself with waving to a couple of her fellow newspaper editors directly across the hall.

Lauren stifled a laugh. Elizabeth always played it so cool. She was always Miss Composed, Miss Totally Disgustingly In Charge and On Top Of It. She always kept track of all of her millions of assignments, and managed all of the Quill and Scroll meetings single-handedly. She always took up all the paperwork for the National Honor Society, being the secretary. She was one of the main editors for the Newspaper, coordinating meetings, layout, advertisements, and even the annual Valentine's fund-raiser, only a few days from now.

She was the ideal student, with impeccable grades and an even better record. She was perfect, perfect, perfect. She never failed anything, she was never rude, she never smoke, she never drank…and she never talked about boys.

As strange as it was, Elizabeth was always the first to offer great advice to her friends about their completely flawed boyfriends, and yet Ms. Great Catch herself never talked about guys. In fact, Lauren didn't even think Elizabeth had taken up a boyfriend since she transferred to PCH two years ago.

But now little Elizabeth was caught. The cat was out of the bag and already yowling on the fence. The whole ordeal struck Lauren as tremendously funny: Jason was a great guy, and Elizabeth was a great girl. They'd be perfect for each other. And yet, no one had ever noticed anything.

Offhandedly, Lauren wondered how long it had been going on. How long had Elizabeth been completely infatuated with Jason Morgan, the original Golden Boy himself? What was it that she liked about him?

Still mulling over these thoughts, Lauren began to dream up wonderfully funny and wonderfully awkward situations in which to set the two up. A certain AP Physics experiment gone awry? A shoving war in the already congested hallways? Perhaps a few strategically sent Valentine's Day balloons? Or maybe…

"Hey," she asked, shoving Elizabeth lightly on the shoulder and smiling in amusement as the little girl almost tipped over. "You going to the cross country meet this weekend?"

Elizabeth toyed with one of her braids. "I don't know," she hedged. "I really have a lot of work to do for the Balloon Delivery on Valentine's. It's next Friday, you know. I'm totally swamped, and the database program my mom made me is totally bugging out-"

"Yeah, yeah," Lauren drawled, waving a hand in the air. "You should still come. It's so much fun."

"Really?"

The taller brunette nodded emphatically. "Oh, yeah. It's great. Have you ever seen the runners before the race? They're crazy." She laughed, clapping her hands with glee. "Jason's the best, though."

Elizabeth looked away at the mention of Jason, feeling slightly awkward and embarrassed for no logical reason.

Lauren continued, pretending not to notice. "He has a ritual of playing hackey sack by himself right at the starting line, like, fifteen minutes before the race. And it's always the same blue sack. That thing is so friggin' nasty that it's not even funny – we've dropped it in a billion puddles and thrown it God-knows-where. Oh, and he's always on a Runner's High _before _the race. How weird is that?"

Elizabeth forced a laugh. "Pretty weird."

Lauren smiled impishly. "And he's the only runner that runs shirtless at each and every meet. Even the indoor ones and the ones during the winter. _Shirtless_, Beth. The kid's totally insane."

Elizabeth nodded meekly, trying her best not to picture Jason, an all in all tan and cut Adonis, running freely without a shirt. And in those loose track shorts…And sweating…

"He's insane," Lauren continued, pretending not to notice the pink blush that was now spreading across Elizabeth's face. "And after the meet – geez, you should see him! He's a walking laugh riot."

"Really," Elizabeth managed, tugging on a braid. "He certainly sounds funny."

"Plus," Lauren added, "we all go to Kelly's right afterward. It's usually in the evening, and that's sometimes when Jason's sister is working. Did you know that they both work at Kelly's?"

"I didn't," Elizabeth replied.

Lauren nodded. "Yup. They both make pies and stuff."

Images of Jason Morgan and frosting ran through Elizabeth's head, causing her blush to deepen.

"Beth! Petey!" A loud yell ended Elizabeth's sinful train of thought. Looking to their left, the girls saw Sydney Morse standing by her locker, waving them over.

Elizabeth smiled at the other brunette. Sydney was a closer friend of hers than she was of Lauren's, but they all often hung around together after school.

Sydney freed her wavy, shoulder-length hair from her clip as Lexi Cassadine peeked out from behind her. The brunette with blonde highlights smiled and waved, pulling her own hair back into a tight ponytail.

"Beth," she grinned. "Ready to call it a day?"

"Am I ever," Elizabeth groaned, dropping her backpack on the floor and leaning against one of the lockers. "I'm so ridiculously tired today."

She blinked as Lauren waved a hand directly in front of her face. "I'll see you tomorrow, Beth," she said, readjusting her backpack. "I've got to get down to the weight room before Mr. Voves hurts me."

Elizabeth nodded. "See you later, Lauren."

"Bye, guys," the brunette called to the group as she walked away down the still crowded hallway.

"Hey, guys," grinned Johnny O'Brien, a tall Irish junior. Elizabeth vaguely recognized him as one of Sydney and Lexi's friends from band. She personally didn't know him too well and doubted that he knew her, but she smiled anyway.

"Hey, Morse."

"Hey, Johnny," Sydney smiled. Instead of saying anything further, Johnny just grabbed Sydney's combination lock and jammed it into one of the small crevices in the locker door.

"There goes your lock, Morse," he said with a shrug and suppressed small. "Too bad."

Sydney smacked him on the shoulder before trying to wrench the lock out. It took her a few tries, but she managed.

But by the time she had the combination lock in her hand, Johnny had his eyes on her purple scarf.

"Nice scarf," he pointed out, referring to the one Sydney crocheted herself. "It's mine now." With that, he grabbed one end and playfully tried to wrestle it away from the brunette.

Sydney yelped as she always did, trying to tug it back while punching Johnny in the stomach. As Elizabeth watched, Johnny slammed Sydney back against the lockers, maintaining a death grip on the scarf.

Realizing this as Johnny's naturally outgoing – and slightly crazy – nature, Elizabeth just laughed as her friend kept trying to kick the Irish boy while retaining a hold on her scarf. The two struggled against the lockers not five inches away from Elizabeth, who was laughing so hard by now that her sides were beginning to ache.

"Oh, Elizabeth," Lexi began, jabbing her friend on the shoulder. "You took AP Bio _last_ year, right?"

Elizabeth nodded, knowing that most of her friends were taking it this year. "Yup."

"Do you remember dissecting those fetal pigs?" the girl asked excitedly.

Elizabeth just laughed. "Do I ever! That was my favorite part!"

Lexi squealed. "You want to hear what happened to us with our pig today?" she asked excitedly. "I swear, you're not going to believe it."

"Try me," Elizabeth challenged, still laughing at Johnny and Sydney's antics. As she watched them and tried to listen to Lexi, she watched a very familiar figure round the corner towards the lockers she was standing against.

Jason Morgan, his Jesus sandals flapping against the polished linoleum and his wool cap in his hands, spied Sydney and Johnny's wrestling match and walked over, slinging his bag on the floor a few paces away.

Elizabeth's heart skipped a beat with surprise, and she vaguely remembered to make sure her mouth wasn't hanging open, or anything else as embarrassing as that. Her first thought was about how Jason knew Sydney, but then she remembered that they were in Band together. Sydney played percussion instruments, while Jason played the clarinet.

Next to her, Lexi prattled on about how instead of her group's pig's veins being filled with formaldehyde and rubber, like they were supposed to be, they were filled with blood, all of which came squirting out when they made the first cut along the rib cage.

With the blonde's words echoing in Elizabeth's head, she watched as Jason rounded the two sparring friends, smiling wickedly. He stepped only close enough to quickly latch on to Sydney's flailing hand, trying to pry the lock free from her fingers.

Despite herself, Elizabeth kept laughing as she watched him. Normally she clammed up whenever he was around, but now was not one of those times.

Jason smiled at her and clicked the lock shut, dropping it into one of the wide pockets on his shorts. He waited for a moment, but neither Sydney nor Johnny noticed.

Sensing that he was hoping for a reaction, Elizabeth kept watching. Johnny finally relinquished the scarf, and a breathless Sydney – too frazzled to even notice her combo lock was gone – finally turned to her.

Elizabeth laughed as the brunette swept her hair up into a loose bun, fixing her sweatshirt.. "So," Sydney began, still trying to catch her breath. "You going home now, Beth?"

"That would be the plan, Syd," she nodded, still very aware that Jason Morgan was standing right next to her friend.

As she watched, he held out the brunette's lock and laughed at the surprised look on Sydney's face. She quickly snatched it away from him and tossed it toward her backpack, which was lying right next to Elizabeth's feet.

Jason sighed and slammed his back against the lockers, only a few inches away from Elizabeth. He fiddled with his light jacket, shifting a bit more until he was slightly closer to her.

Feeling like a ninny and despising herself for it, Elizabeth could literally hear her own heart thumping in her chest. And she just hoped to God that Jason didn't.

"So, how did you do on the _Tom Jones _quiz today?" Sydney asked, stuffing her hands into the pocket of her sweatshirt.

"I thought I did f-fine," Elizabeth got out. Standing this close to Jason was not boding well for her nerves. "What did you put for the question about Fielding's views on love?"

She listened – or at least tried to listen – as Sydney prattled on about Fielding saying that Love was a disease and would strike the body completely and paralyze the heart's defenses.

But pretty soon she gave up, as Sydney's words just seemed to blend into one hazy string of _blah blah blah. _

Instead, her awareness turned even more to the tall blonde boy next to her. The one that was patiently listening to Sydney while those sexy fingers of his played with his zipper.

Elizabeth tried to keep her breathing from becoming shallow, but soon gave up. It was a lost cause. She drew in her next breath carefully through her nose, noticing that Jason still smelled of Old Spice.

Very few boys she knew wore Old Spice. They preferred the latest Hilfiger or Nautica cologne, but Jason was one of those men that stuck with the classics. Old Spice was the same cologne her grandfather wore, and Elizabeth was very surprised when she smelled it on Jason the first time.

It was at a National Honor Society meeting, and Elizabeth was waiting for the three other officers to show up so the four of them could start conducting it. But they were late, and her friend Caroline – a good friend of Jason's – had just developed her Homecoming dance pictures.

She and Caroline were seated on one of the long tables and the tall blonde was showing Elizabeth pictures of her and her date at dinner, the dance, and the bowling alley. So immersed was Elizabeth in the pictures that she didn't notice Jason leaning over between her and Carol until the boy spoke.

And that was when her senses shot into overdrive and she nearly went into cardiac arrest. There he was, right next to her. Mere centimeters from her. In fact, his shoulder was practically pressed up against her back in a way that made her heart race. His face, too, was right next to hers as he gazed down at the glossy photos. She could have kissed him right there if she wanted.

That was when she noticed the cologne – the rugged yet sophisticated scent she always associated with older, wealthier men. That was also when she noticed that he had the nicest nose she had ever seen on a guy.

Sydney's laughter jarred her from her thoughts, and Elizabeth looked up to see the girl pointing at Johnny and laughing.

The next few seconds seemed to play out in slow motion, as every horribly mortifying incident always did.

While Sydney was discussing Fielding and Love, Johnny had set his sights on his next target: Lexi.

After being teased and verbally harassed for a few minutes, a laughing Lexi gave in to the urge to punch Johnny, who managed to duck. Instead of punching her back, the Irish boy decided to tickle her instead.

As he tickled her, Lexi shrieked and bent over, half-stumbling into Elizabeth as she stood in front of the lockers.

When Lexi stumbled into her, the normally graceful Elizabeth lost her footing for a moment. That might not have been so bad had Sydney's backpack not been right next to her feet.

The end result was that a very surprised Elizabeth tripped over Sydney's large backpack and ended up sprawled on the floor, flat on her back. Her Calculus book and prized lunch box went flying and probably clattered to the floor, but Elizabeth was too shocked to notice.

Time seemed to stop.

Despite herself, Elizabeth couldn't help laughing at the ordeal. What were the odds that such a terrific and perfectly orchestrated domino effect would end up with her on the floor? It was too ridiculous. And it could only happen to her.

No one else was laughing.

Her friends seemed like statues, all paralyzed after her tumble. Johnny's eyes looked as if they would soon bug out of his head.

"Oh my God," he stammered, shock evident on his face. "I am _so _sorry. Seriously – I am _sooooo_ sorry."

"It's okay," Elizabeth chuckled. "No big deal; I know you didn't do it on purpose."

The boy didn't seem to hear her. "I am _sooo_ sorry," was all he could repeat.

Another one of her friends, Lisa Kelling, had joined the group sometime during the catastrophe, and all three girls were standing over a still chuckling Elizabeth, their mouths hanging open.

"Are you okay?"

"Are you hurt?"

"Are you all right?"

"Johnny, you ass!"

"How bad did Johnny hurt you?"

"What the hell is wrong with you, man?"

"I am _soooo _sorry."

Still on the floor, Elizabeth propped herself up on her elbows, her braids swinging with the movement. With everyone literally standing in a circle around her and peering down at her, she didn't have much room to get up.

"I'm fine," she kept repeating with an embarrassed smile. "Really, it's okay, no big deal. I'm not hurt." A dull pain in her hand told her that wasn't the entire truth, and she wondered if she had bumped her fingers into a locker as she fell. It felt like her nail was bruising, judging by the dull and pulsing pain in the fourth digit on her right hand.

Jenny Evrard, one of Elizabeth's co-editors, walked down the hall with her freshman sister, Caitlin. She took one look at the group and shook her head gravely.

"Beth, did you fall down again?"

Smiling at Jenny's serious tone and underhanded attempt to make even more fun of her, Elizabeth called out to her close friend. "You know I did."

Jenny shook her head once more, and then resumed her walk down the hall, knowing that Elizabeth couldn't be hurt if she was already cracking jokes about it.

The girls and Johnny continued to bicker, with him apologizing profusely and them alternating between berating him and asking her if she was okay. None of them had moved, and so Elizabeth still couldn't get up from her awkward position.

Perhaps it was the fact that out of all of them, she was the tiniest. She seemed to bring out the protective tendencies in all of her friends, guys and girls. Also, she was a self-proclaimed nerd, which seemed to add an ironic air of delicacy to her barely five-foot-one figure.

The girls continued to squawk at poor Johnny, not realizing that they were practically smothering Elizabeth. Even though it seemed as if she had been on the floor forever, it had only been a minute or so at most.

She heard shuffling behind her head, and Elizabeth wondered who it could be. And once again, she found out as soon as he spoke.

Jason gently pushed the girls and Johnny out of the way, shaking his head. Elizabeth's face reddened considerably as she heard him kindly say, "Come on, let's help the Little One up."

Under normal circumstances, she would have laughed. It was no secret that she was itty-bitty. That much was obvious. It was the main reason that people generally seemed to try to protect her when they were with her. Strangely enough, it was also the reason that the swearing and cussing in the room significantly decreased once she walked in.

Elizabeth expected Jason to extend a hand so that she could pull herself up from her propped elbows. But what Jason did next after dubbing her the "Little One" – or had he said "Wee One"? She couldn't remember - completely surprised her.

Instead of offering a hand, Jason reached under her propped elbows and grabbed her underneath the arms from behind, much like a person grabs an infant from behind. He then literally _plucked _her off of the ground.

In one moment she was horizontal, looking up at the ceiling. And in the next, she was vertical, the entirety of her 101 lbs. supported by Jason's arms.

Being rather old-fashioned and admittedly "prim and proper" – not to mention slightly prudish – Elizabeth expected him to help her to her knees so that she could stand up herself.

Again, Jason Morgan completely surprised her. Instead of allowing her the independence and dignity of getting up at least a little by herself, Jason just kept lifting. He lifted her a full six inches off of the ground before he set her down.

At this point, Elizabeth's gracious _I-can-laugh-at-myself_ attitude dissipated and her cheeks flamed up at his forwardness. Wide-eyed, she just stood in place after he set her down and stepped back. Her friends were upon her at once, asking her if she was sure she was okay and if she wanted them to kick Johnny in the balls for her. None of them noticed how red her cheeks were, or how wide her eyes were, or the fact that she had yet to say anything.

Elizabeth numbly turned around when she felt Jason move behind her. Her frazzled eyes fell to his hands, which were holding her Calculus book.

Deftly, she accepted it from him, tucking it under her arm and onto the ridge of her pelvic bone. So frazzled was she that she didn't notice him pick up her lunch box. At that point, she didn't even know where her lunch box had fallen. Hell, she didn't even know she _had_ a lunch box.

He brushed off the lid with what she might have selfishly mistaken as tenderness, clearing off any invisible dust. He grasped it by the hot pink handle and offered it to her, his pink lips curving into an apologetic smile.

"The Lone Ranger's dented."

Elizabeth didn't nod, didn't smile, didn't say anything. She couldn't. She didn't even look at him as he set the box in her hands.

He bent over to grab his backpack, his blonde hair falling in his eyes. He brushed it away as he straightened, his vivid crystal blue eyes meeting hers dead-on for the first time.

Much to her dazed surprise and pleasure, he flashed her a classic Morgan grin and ambled down the hallway to the stairwell.

She watched him leave, dazed and confused. A part of her wondered if that had actually happened to her, if Jason Morgan had actually lifted her in his arms. And the other part knew it did, and was already giddy and doing the Snoopy dance.

A quirked smile rose to her lips as her friends continued to hover over her, making sure she hadn't injured herself. Her bruised ring finger received quite a bit of attention, along with several curses slung in Johnny's direction.

Standing next to her, the young man was still apologizing. "Seriously, Beth," he began, winding an arm around her and hugging her gently. "I am _soooo_ sorry."

She smacked him lightly on the chest, stepping back. Although still flustered by the earlier events, she actually managed to speak this time. "Dude, Johnny, it's okay. Seriously. Drop it."

Her inadvertent pun didn't go unnoticed, and Sydney reached out to pluck her lunch box from Elizabeth's arms. She surveyed the small dent in the corner gravely, running her fingers over. "Poor Clayton Moore _is _dented, all right."

"Acute observation, Syd," Elizabeth joked, snatching the tin box back. Under normal circumstances, she would have been quite upset at the dented corner. But these circumstances were _far_ from normal. And under normal circumstances, she would have considered whining about her injured finger. But again, normal didn't even come close.

She gripped her lunch box by the handle, dangling it from her middle and ring fingers. There was no real harm done. And besides, if she was really honest with herself, she didn't mind the dent or her new bruise. In all truth, they both reminded her of Jason and the utter craziness of the last few minutes.

"Come on," she said, tipping her head toward the stairwell. "Let's go home."

Their worries assuaged, the girls and Johnny walked alongside Elizabeth. The girls still chattered loudly and happily, while Johnny _still_ continued to apologize.

As the conversation moved to that night's basketball game, Lexi's thoughts drifted, a sly and knowing smile rising to her lips. She bit her bottom lip in excitement, glancing sideways at a still flushed Elizabeth.

Lauren _definitely _needed to hear about this.


	2. An Umbrella Made For Two

**An Umbrella Made For Two**

Elizabeth Webber pulled her leather jacket out of the coat closet, quickly shoving her slender arms into it and shutting the door with a bang. One glance at the murky and overcast sky outside had her opening the door again, hunting for an umbrella.

No such luck.

"I thought Dad kept all the umbrellas in the closet," she muttered to herself, already making her way to the basement. Maybe he left them behind the basement door.

Again, there were no umbrellas.

"Garage?" she asked herself, quickly popping the door open and scanning for any sort of protection from the rain. Seeing nothing, she closed the door again. "Damn it."

Elizabeth raced back to the coat closet, hoping she had overlooked the umbrellas in her previous search. The hall clock reading 9:20 had her swearing, and she hoped she could make it to school before the 9:35 bell. Even though it was a late arrival day, she was still running late.

A rumble of thunder echoed through the quiet neighborhood as Elizabeth grabbed her backpack and Lone Ranger lunch box. "Oh, screw it," she muttered. She'd just have to risk ruining her leather jacket.

Elizabeth stepped onto the front porch, quickly zipping up her jacket over her pink sweater. She made quick work of locking the door, and looking up at the turbulent sky, she knew she had to make a mad dash for her car.

She lit out for the smoky gold Acura, hoping the cuffs of her new jeans wouldn't get too wet as she accidentally splashed through a large rain puddle in the driveway. In seconds, she had the driver's side door open and quickly unlocked all the doors, dumping her backpack and lunch onto the backseat and sliding into hers.

She stared out the windshield, thinking as the wipers cleared away the raindrops. Maybe her father had left an umbrella on the backseat.

Turning around, she searched quickly under the seats but found nothing except two ice scrapers. Then it hit her: maybe he left one for her in the trunk.

As the car warmed up, Elizabeth popped the trunk and jumped out of the car, cursing the fat raindrops as they splattered onto her jacket. But her troubles were rewarded as she spied the large khaki-colored Bill Blass umbrella in her trunk. _Thanks, Dad. What a relief._

She was soon back in the car, tossing the umbrella on the passenger seat. Lightning flashed as she reversed, and as she raced to school, Elizabeth doubted the day would get any better.

* * *

Elizabeth walked quickly through the halls of PC High to her first period class down in the Paper Office. Having Independent Study Newspaper was a definite plus: she got to hang out in the Office for fifty minutes and work on whatever homework she had, or just talk to Ms. Bedford, the advisor, with whom she was quite close.

Ms. Melissa Bedford looked up from her desk as Elizabeth walked in, trying to tame her windblown hair. She had worked on the school newspaper, the _Independent_, with Elizabeth since the girl was a sophomore, and had tremendous respect for her. Elizabeth was always punctual, always organized, and always perfectly composed.

Until recently.

Melissa smirked at the thought, lowering her gaze to the newspaper on her desk. She'd never forget what had happened about two days ago.

Elizabeth had come into the office after school as she usually did. Instead of plopping down at her desk to do some homework or work on her pages, the petite brunette had flopped down on one of the two purple recliners in the office. She had been on the phone at the moment, but she still heard Elizabeth sigh, "_Ms. Bed-ford_" in exasperation.

After much wheedling and prodding, Melissa had finally extracted the full story from the bashful brunette: Jason Morgan had touched her. Held her. And picked up her lunch box for her.

She had to laugh at the story and how flabbergasted and flustered Elizabeth was by it all. And Elizabeth Webber was _never_ flustered. That's just not who she was. She was calm and rational and logical, and rarely did things that were out of character. Of course, there was that one time one of her writers sent her a nasty "screw you" email, and Elizabeth had started swearing like a sailor. That was another thing she'd never forget.

And so she'd selfishly used her favorite editor's story for her own amusement, calling Jason – who she had in Journalism every day – Elizabeth's "lover" at every chance she got. And then the young girl would blush furiously, and squeal "_Ms. Bedford!"_ indignantly.

And now, as Elizabeth took her gloves off only to set down her umbrella and then put them on again, Melissa wondered if her absent-mindedness could be due in some part to her new "lover".

Elizabeth took off her coat, slinging it across the back of her desk chair and sat down, quickly opening Adobe Pagemaker to her saved pages. Melissa returned to her newspaper, skimming quickly through the latest news about the Democratic presidential nomination.

"Morning, everyone," Veronica Peterson called gaily, leaping into the office. Elizabeth looked up from her screen, smiling at the tall and lanky dark blonde. Veronica was an old friend of hers, and they'd worked on the paper together since junior year, with her as an editor and Ashley as the business person.

"Mornin', Roni," she replied, getting back to her editing. "How's it going?"

"Pretty well," Veronica sang, twirling in front of her desk. "I just love today."

"Oh?" Elizabeth asked, quirking a brow. "Why's that?"

"It's just so pretty out," Veronica replied with a smile, sitting on her desk and kicking out her long legs. "I love it when it rains."

"Normally, I do, too," Elizabeth answered, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she spoke. "But today was just a little too crazy for my taste."

"How so?" Ms. Bedford asked from her corner, setting down the newspaper.

Elizabeth turned away from her monitor, facing her teacher and friend. "Well, I got up late, there was no milk in the house so I didn't get to eat my cereal and I had to eat toast instead, I couldn't find anything to wear because Mom was too busy to do the laundry this weekend, I forgot to make my lunch last night so I had to make it today, and then I couldn't find an umbrella and had to run out in the rain."

Ms. Bedford pointed at the tan umbrella on the recliner. "What about that?"

"Oh," Elizabeth shrugged. "My dad makes it a point to always stock my car with certain provisions, and I managed to find his old Bill Blass umbrella back in the trunk."

"I didn't know Bill Blass made umbrellas," Veronica mumbled, picking up the folded umbrella and inspecting it.

"Neither did I," Elizabeth answered. She got up from her seat and walked toward the recliners, taking the umbrella from Veronica's hands. "It's pretty big, too. Just look." She opened the clasp, shaking the umbrella out gently.

Her hands grasped the metal inlay, ready to pull it down and out, but Veronica's gasped stopped her. Looking up, Elizabeth saw both Veronica and Ms. Bedford gaping at her.

"What?"

"It's bad luck to open an umbrella indoors," Veronica offered quietly, shifting in her seat.

"Do you believe that?" Elizabeth asked incredulously, never being one for superstition.

Veronica nodded, flushing with embarrassment. Coming home to her house being burglarized a month ago, the blonde had decided to always play it as safe as she possibly could.

"You can open it upside down, though," Ms. Bedford offered from her desk, leaning forward for a view of the abnormal umbrella.

Elizabeth turned to Veronica, who nodded that she was fine with that.

"OK. Check this out."

Elizabeth opened the umbrella upside down, stepping back and setting it on the floor. Almost five feet in diameter, the umbrella teetered on its external spoke.

"That is one _huge_ umbrella," Veronica laughed. "It's crazy."

"I know," Elizabeth smiled. "Trust my dad to have something this weird."

Melissa didn't even try hiding her smile at the sight of tiny Elizabeth with an umbrella as wide as she was. "You know," she began with an evil smirk. "That's not just any umbrella – it's an umbrella made for two."

Vernoica laughed, spinning the umbrella on the floor, while Elizabeth glared warningly at her teacher.

"She's right," the blonde added, unmindful of the look on the brunette's face or the hidden meaning of the statement. "You could fit the entire senior class under here."

Elizabeth forced a laugh, still glaring at Ms. Bedford, who decided to have a bit more fun.

"Or," she drawled, propping her chin in her hands. "You could go on a very romantic rainy walk with a certain someone under there."

Elizabeth's mouth fell open, and even Veronica didn't miss the hidden meaning.

"What?" she squawked, her eyes on a blushing and stunned Elizabeth. "Who's this _certain someone_?"

"There is no certain someone," Elizabeth retorted, shooting daggers at a giggling Ms. Bedford.

"Are you sure?" Veronica wheedled, a wide grin on her face. She scooted forward with her chair, her voice full of amusement at her friend's expense. "Because I'm not sure I believe you."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, trying to play down the incident as much as possible. "Please," she huffed, running a hand through her soft chocolate waves. "Who _would_ there be?"

"I don't know," Veronica drawled, spinning idly in her chair as she thought. "Maybe…Sonny?"

"Sonny?" Elizabeth gawked at the mention of one of her closest friends. "Why would you think that?"

"I don't know," Veronica shrugged. "You two spend a lot of time together."

"Yeah," Elizabeth scoffed, placing her small hands on her smaller waist. "Because we're _friends_."

Ms. Bedford smiled, all thoughts of her newspaper forgotten as she watched the latest teen scene unfold. She had seen Sonny and Elizabeth together since sophomore year, and knew how strong their friendship was. Sonny was one of the first kids to talk to Elizabeth when she came to the second hour honors English class at the beginning of the year after a hasty move from Colorado. While the entire class had welcomed her, Sonny had always made it a point to be especially nice to her, and before long the two had become very close.

Every year since then, they always wound up having both English and Math together. They joked and collaborated in class, playfully shoved and kicked each other in the hallway, walked to their cars together after school, and sometimes hung out over the weekend with the rest of their friends. Elizabeth always enjoyed Sonny's friendship, and Melissa wondered to herself if Sonny suspected that Elizabeth liked Jason. After all, the two boys were on the track team together and had been good friends since elementary school.

"Are you sure?" Veronica repeated, clearly enjoying teasing the bashful brunette. "Because he _is_ quite handsome."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, closing her umbrella and tossing it onto the recliner before walking back to her desk.

"That curly black hair," Veronica drawled, grinning. "That smooth voice, his cute subtle accent, those gorgeous eyes. And, of course, those dimples!"

Elizabeth couldn't help laughing. "Fine, Ash. He's cute; I'll give you that. But he's my friend. I'd never want anything from him beyond friendship."

"Oh, come on."

"Seriously!" Elizabeth exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and turning to Ms. Bedford. "I'm going to head up to my locker now, if that's okay. I just want to dump my stuff before second hour."

Melissa nodded. "Sure, sure." She motioned toward a large container of bagels on the floor near her desk. "Before you go – do you girls want a bagel? I brought them for second hour, but I have extras. You're welcome to them."

Elizabeth considered the offer, but her growling stomach decided it for her. Veronica was already at the desk, taking two cinnamon bagels from the cardboard container along with the cream cheese. She passed Elizabeth a plastic knife, and the two girls began to spread the fluffy cream cheese while talking.

"He's just a really good friend," Elizabeth explained honestly. "And you can never have too many good friends."

Veronica nodded. "I don't really know him too well. What makes him such a good friend?"

Elizabeth smoothed another hunk of cream cheese over her bagel. "Well, he's really smart and he's pretty funny. He's kind of a goody-two-shoes, though."

"He seems like it," Veronica nodded. "Very squeaky-clean."

"Definitely. But he's really nice, and he listens to me. I just always end up having a lot of fun whenever we hang out together."

She wrapped her sticky bagel in a napkin, glancing at the clock. "I'd better go. First hour's over in five minutes."

She grabbed her jacket and put it on, sticking her lunch box in her backpack and then slinging that over her shoulders. "I'll see you guys later," she called to her teacher and friend as she walked toward the door.

"Will I see you after school?" Ms. Bedford asked from her desk.

"I don't think so," Elizabeth answered, breaking off a tiny piece of the bagel and cramming it into her mouth.

"Okay, then. Have a nice day."

"You too, Ms. Bedford."

Elizabeth stepped into the bright hallway, still picking small pieces off her bagel. Sydney hated it when she did that, insisting that she should instead just try eating like normal people. And Elizabeth's response that perhaps she was just a chronic nibbler never seemed good enough.

She nibbled and nibbled all the way up the stairs from the basement, swinging her umbrella from where it hung on her wrist. Licking away a fleck of cream cheese that had found its way onto the pad of her thumb, Elizabeth passed the vending machines outside the gym and field house and stepped into the main hallway.

With a little luck, she'd make it up to her locker on the third floor, dump her jacket and books, and get down to the first floor before the bell rang after the passing period.

Head bent, she picked at her bagel some more, withdrawing her hand again to lick the cream cheese off her fingers. Even with her eyes down, she noticed another solitary figure walking down the hallway.

She glanced up, and chose absolutely the wrong time to place a large chunk of cinnamon bagel in her mouth.

Jason ambled down the hallway, dressed in his favorite green cargo shorts – despite the three inches of snow on the ground outside – and his gray AP Physics shirt. It was one of Elizabeth's favorite shirts, and it made her laugh every time he wore it.

She snickered despite herself when she read the front, hich read _The Top Ten_ – with "top ten" crossed out and replaced by "only" – _Reason to take AP Phsyics_. Underneath that, in multicolored letters, read _Great America_.

But it was the back that was really outrageous. He had worn it once in Calculus last semester, back when they actually had that class together. It was the day of the State Cross Country Conferences, and he and Sonny, the only two track kids in the class, were completely stoked.

Sonny had worn his black Cross Country shirt with the US Marine logo on the back, and Jason had opted for his AP Physics shirt. She had been sitting at her desk, hurriedly trying to finish the last few homework problems for the day while Sonny and Jason gathered their stuff, all of them lingering for a few minutes after the bell.

Mr. Alcazar, the AP Calculus teacher, had struck up a conversation with the boys about their hopes for the conferences, and Sonny, being the team co-captain along with Jason, had launched into his own tirade about how great their season was and how well all the runners would hopefully do.

Elizabeth had rolled her eyes at Sonny's pre-conference pep talk, smirking at how optimistic her friend always seemed to be. So engrossed was she in her thoughts and the integral of _sec x_ that she didn't even notice Jason walking toward her desk.

She was snapped from her solid concentration with the _smack_ of his heavy textbook slamming down on her desk. She looked up directly into his light blue eyes, dancing with amusement, and had cringed when he loudly yelled, _"Stop studying!" _almost in her ear.

Sonny had laughed, calling her a nerd as she finished the problem and picked up her backpack, balancing the book on her head as she normally did. While the two bickered, Jason had set down his backpack to drop his notebook inside.

That was all the time Mr. Alcazar had needed to see that the back of Jason's shirt had some mathematical symbols on it.

"Look!" he exclaimed, pointing out Jason's shirt. "You have Calculus on you shirt! How fitting."

Elizabeth had turned to read the front of the shirt, and when she raised her questioning eyes to Jason's, the young man had blushed.

"Let's see, Jase," Sonny goaded, knowing full well what the shirt really said.

Mr. Alcazar already had a hand on Jason's shoulder, and was bending over to read the back. Elizabeth leaned forward too, and Sonny just watched her, grinning.

"No, really," Jason sputtered, "it's nothing."

"Oh, sure it is," replied Mr. Alcazar. "Let's see, it says '_the integral of e raised to the x equals f of u raised to the n…'. _What does that….?" He stood there for a moment, puzzled, while Jason grinned at his friend in embarrassment. Suddenly, Mr. Alcazar understood, and shoved Jason lightly toward his friends with a laugh. "Why, you little…"

Sonny was already enjoying a laugh at his friend's expense, and a blushing Elizabeth had to join in as well, for the back of Jason's shirt read, _ § ex f(u)n._

This was the same shirt he had on today as he ambled down the hallway, hands stuffed deep in the pockets of his shorts, his Jesus sandals flapping against the linoleum as they always did.

As she neared him, her heart started to pound. They were the only two people in the hallway, so she had to say _hi_ to him, right? Would he say it first? Damn it, couldn't she chew her bagel fast enough?

She felt strangely uneasy around him, and now was hardly an exception. Ever since he'd lifted her up off the ground two days ago, things had been a little tense. She still stood around by Sydney's locker every day after school, just like he did, but they never really spoke to each other and barely made eye contact.

From what she could tell, he was a nice boy. A genuine _nice boy_. The kind that held a door open for a girl, knew where the line not to cross was, and the kind that would pick up a girl's books if they fell to the ground. Along with the girl.

Elizabeth chewed faster as he drew near, hoping she'd at least be able to extend her salutations with a mouth that wasn't full of food.

But as they neared each other, he did something that surprised her. Instead of even making eye contact, he shoved his hands deeper into those shorts – if that were possible – and averted his gaze to look at some of the framed pictures of former track runners on the wall, all the while whistling some tune she couldn't place.

Mouth still full of that stupid bagel, Elizabeth felt her face heat up as she passed him. Had he just blown her off? What could have caused him to do that?

* * *

Sydney Morse slipped out of her second hour Creative Writing class, knowing there were still three minutes left until the passing period was over. Nearby, Elizabeth Webber was agitatedly shoving her books and what appeared to be a very large umbrella into her locker.

Sydney walked over and leaned a shoulder on the locker next to Elizabeth's, waiting for the brunette to notice. Elizabeth remained oblivious, however, scowling darkly at her jacket when it slipped from the hook.

"Hey, Beth," Sydney started, watching her friend carefully. "Uh, is something wrong?"

Elizabeth pulled her head out from her locker, flashing Sydney a quick smile. "No, Syd, of course not. Why would you think that?"

Sydney frowned at the unusually high pitch of Elizabeth's voice, and was about to answer when the brunette's head disappeared inside her locker again.

"Uh, I don't know. You just seem kind of..ups-"

Elizabeth poked her head out suddenly, her eyes narrowed and her lips set. "Do you know what just happened?" she asked hurriedly, swiping a lock of hair from her face. "The strangest thing just happened."

Sydney noticed how quickly Elizabeth was speaking, how her words seem to just tumble out, one after the other, but ignored it. "Does this have anything to do with…?" She wiggled her fingers in the air, referring to Jason Morgan. She'd finally wheedled the truth out of Elizabeth the day before, and was one of the three people who knew the identity of the object of Elizabeth's affections.

"Yes!" she hissed, throwing her hands up in the air. "It's about him. Who the heck else would get me this flustered this early in the morning? Ugh!"

Sydney bit back a chuckle as Elizabeth yanked a notebook from her locker. "What happened?"

"I don't even know!" Elizabeth cried, sitting on the floor by her backpack. "I was walking down the hall and eating a bagel because Ms. Bedford got them for her class and offered me and Roni one and so I was eating it and walking down the hall-"

She paused for a breath, and Sydney did her best to hide her smile. Elizabeth was speaking in run-ons. She _never_ did that.

"And so I look up while I'm eating and Jason's walking down the hall, so I at least make an effort to chew and swallow in a hurry so that at least I can say hi and not be thought of as completely rude if I walk down the hall without even talking or looking at him, so I'm about to swallow and say hi, but he's almost next tome, and then he all but turns his face and walks by whistling without even looking at me. What the heck was that about?"

She slammed her locker door shut with a loud _bang_, attracting several glances from the other seniors in the hallway. Sydney watched as she snatched her combo lock from the floor and jammed it into the lock mechanism, pounding it shut.

Sydney searched for something to say. "Well," she began. "Knowing Jason, he was probably trying to be funny."

Elizabeth snorted. "Ha ha."

Sydney couldn't help but smile. "Or, he's just shy," she shrugged. "Either way, don't worry about it. He's not the most…forward or blunt guy around. He's kinda passive and what not."

Elizabeth looked up at her, doubt clouding her blue eyes. "Really?"

"Sure," Sydney nodded without missing a beat. "Don't worry about it."

Elizabeth nodded, grabbing her backpack. "Meh. Ok. Thanks, Syd. I'll see you later, I have to run to class."

"Amy Tambers," answered Sydney, with her spin on the spanish phrase, _A mi tambien_. "See ya."

* * *

Lauren blew a kiss to the cardboard cutout of Peter Frampton hanging inside her locker and resumed humming the theme to "_All in the Family"_ while she waited for Elizabeth.

"It's really coming down out there," she noted, gazing out the gigantic windows at the stairwell. "Am I glad we're not in the field yet."

Elizabeth mumbled in agreement. "It's pretty, though, you have to admit."

Lauren nodded. "I hate driving in it, though." She continued to gaze out at the rain, which fell in silver sheets over the adjacent football field.

Laughter echoed up the stairwell, and Jason and a couple of his friends emerged. Lauran glanced down at Elizabeth, who peeked at the group once before wrestling her umbrella out of her locker, her face slightly flushed.

Lauren looked up just in time to see Jason glance hesitatingly at Elizabeth. He stepped closer, as if he wanted to talk to her, but stopped himself and walked away, pumping his fist in frustration.

Lauren snickered. _How sweet_.

"So, Beth, how's the Valentine's dealie coming?"

Elizabeth sighed. "It's coming along okay. I just can't believe it's next week. I hope I get everything done in time."

Lauren smiled slyly. "Did you get anyone balloons?"

Elizabeth looked up at her incredulously. "Who'd I give balloons to?" she asked. Lauren's smirk grew and Elizabeth scowled. "And if you say Sonny, I'm going to drop-kick you."

Lauren laughed. "I wasn't thinking about Sonny, although he _is _hot."

Elizabeth groaned playfully, shutting her locker and swinging her umbrella as they walked. "Not _this _conversation again."

Lauren smiled. "Shut up and quit changing the subject. Like I said, I wasn't thinking of Sonny."

Elizabeth's smile faltered. "Who were you thinking of, then?"

Lauren grinned, passing a group of her friends. "Jason!" she called out. He turned around and grinned at them both, trying to pull on his green wool skull cap while Brendan tried to trip him.

"You didn't answer my question," Elizabeth remarked dryly as they passed. "Who were you thinking of?"

"Beth! Lauren!" Sydney Morse interrupted them, and Lauren couldn't keep from grinning. "Did you guys turn in your cap and gown measurements yet?"

Both girls nodded, and Sydney rolled her eyes. "Geez! I better get my butt in gear."

Next to her, Sonny Corinthos opened his locker while flashing his dimples at Elizabeth. "Yeah, get your act together, Morse."

Sydney laughed, pulling her crocheted scarf out of her locker and looping it around her neck. She grabbed her copy of _Tom Jones_ out from under her Psychology text and tossed it into her backpack.

"I've gotta get going," Lauren announced, smacking the back of Elizabeth's backpack. "I'll see you guys later."

"Bye, Lauren," nodded Elizabeth and Sydney.

"See ya, Petey," Jason called out from behind her as he joined the small group. Elizabeth jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, a movement not lost on Sydney, who hid her face in her letter jacket as she pulled it on.

Elizabeth pulled a long brown hair from her friend's jacket, taking the opportunity to step between Sydney and Sonny. He fumbled through his locker for his journal, cursing under his breath.

"Do you guys think Ms. Hornsby will collect our journals tomorrow?" he asked, running a hand through his gelled black hair.

Sydney considered it. "I don't know," she replied slowly. "How many weeks has it been?"

"Well," Elizabeth began, tapping a finger against her chin. "We're supposed to have three a week, and she wants fifteen by Friday."

Sonny nodded. "Okay. Not bad."

"Are you done with them?" Sydney asked, zipping her jacket.

Sonny nodded, dumping his Biology book into his locker. "Yeah. I usually keep up with them. What about you?"

Sydney waved a hand in the air. "I have, like, one more to write. I'll have it done by tomorrow."

Sonny nodded confidently, looking up from his backpack at Elizabeth's sigh. "Do I even want to know how many you have, Beth?"

Elizabeth laughed, her eyes dazzling. "No, no you don't."

Jason laughed with her, his eyes moving from Sonny to Elizabeth to Sydney. "I have _no_ idea what you guys are talking about."

Sydney laughed, smacking him lightly on the shoulder. "Sorry," she apologized with a grin. "We were talking about English."

Jason apparently didn't hear her right, judging by how he quirked his eyebrows at her. "Right," he drawled, flashing her that classic Morgan grin. "Fish. Okay."

Elizabeth giggled while Sonny shook his head. "No," she clarified. "AP Eng-"

"Inguls," Sydney explained, borrowing the term from the Three Stooges. "AP Inguls."

Jason nodded, still confused. "Anglo Saxons. History, gotcha," he laughed, squirming out of reach as Sydney tried to hit him.

"English," both Sonny and Elizabeth clarified at the same time. Elizabeth was still laughing, her back against the locker next to Sonny's, any of her previous annoyance with him dissipating.

"Then why didn't you say so?" Jason demanded of Sydney, who was by now nearly hysterical with laughter. A very happy-go-lucky person, it really didn't take much for Sydney to start cracking up.

"So?" Sonny smirked at his friend. "How many journals do you have?"

Elizabeth studied him suspiciously, smirking back. "Two," she admitted with an embarrassed smile.

Sonny's eyes bugged. "_Two_?" he repeated, incredulous. "You're kidding, Beth."

"I wish I was," Elizabeth laughed as Sydney gaped at her.

"You have _two_ out of fifteen?" Sydney exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "What's _wrong_ with you?"

Elizabeth bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Dude, I don't even know where my journal is," she admitted. "I'm so lazy."

Sonny laughed, knowing that was anything but the case. Next to him, even Jason was having a hard time believing it.

"Woah, woah," he repeated, his hands in the air. "Do you mean to tell me," he pointed a long finger at Elizabeth's nose, grinning. "That the Little One only has _two_ out of _fifteen_?"

Elizabeth flushed, sliding an inch toward Sonny to escape Jason's finger. He must have sensed it because he moved closer, jokingly trying to intimidate her physically while raising his voice. "Well, then the Wee One clearly has a _lot_ of work to do tonight."

Sonny laughed, shutting his locker. "Isn't that always the case," he teased, jumping back when Elizabeth's small hand flew at him, aimed for his chest.

"Watch it, Corinthos," Elizabeth warned with a smirk. "Or I'll clobber you with my giant umbrella." She pretended to swing it menacingly at him, and the tall brunette caught it easily in one hand.

"It doesn't look so big," he remarked, gently trying to pull it away from her.

Elizabeth pulled it back, crinkling her nose at him. "I'll show you." She undid the clasp, looking up at the group. "Is anyone here superstitious?"

Receiving a bunch of negative responses, Elizabeth backed away from the lockers, standing in the middle of the hallway and opened the umbrella above her.

Next to her, Jason gawked. "That is one _huge_ umbrella," he muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Cripey."

Sydney laughed. "No joke."

Jason wasn't done. "Geez, it's bigger than you are, Wee," he smirked, his smile growing when she glared at him. "It's not an umbrella – it's a tent."

Elizabeth laughed, lowering the umbrella and pulling the metal inlay down. It refused to catch, and she braced the umbrella against her thigh as she struggled to close it.

Jason bent down and grasped the metal where her fingers were, easily pulling it up and closing it for her. He straightened, offering the umbrella to her.

"Thanks," Elizabeth smiled, turning to Sydney. "You ready to go, Syd?"

Sydney nodded. "I just have to stop off at the Main Office for a second. Come with me?"

Elizabeth nodded, looking up when Sonny's hand fell on her shoulder. "You," he bit out, gently jabbing her nose. "Go work on those journals." He laughed and stepped back as she tried to bite his finger. "Will I see you at Bobby's this weekend?"

Directly in front of him, he noticed Jason perk up at the question, eyeing Elizabeth as well.

Elizabeth shook her head. "I can't," she apologized. "I have way too much work to do for this Valentine's Day nightmare."

Sonny nodded. "OK, then. We'll hang out some other time." He turned to his best friend. "Did you see Mr. Preuss yet? He wanted to talk to us."

Jason shook his head, adjusting his backpack. "No, I haven't. But we'd better hurry if we want to talk to him today – he said something about his daughter's doctor appointment or something."

The two boys hurried for the stairs, calling goodbye over their shoulders.

Sydney picked up her backpack, slinging it over her shoulders. She stepped up to Elizabeth, draping an arm over her friend's shoulder. "Come on, Wee," she smiled impishly.

"Shut up, Syd."

* * *

"Have a good evening, girls," Mr. DiLucca smiled as they left the Main Office. "Drive carefully – it's pretty slick out there."

"We will," Elizabeth and Sydney answered in unison, stepping out in the hall.

"Ugh," Sydney groaned, pounding her feet on the floor. "I have fifteen minutes until my drum lesson. You going home?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Yeah, I should go look for my journal."

Sydney grinned. "Oh, yeah. Good luck with that."

"Thanks, I'll need it."

"See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Syd."

Elizabeth turned the corner and walked for the main door, zipping her leather jacket up farther and undoing the clasp of her umbrella. One look through the slim glass panels on the large brown double doors told her that Mother Nature was at her worst.

She opened the door and stepped out under the ledge of the building, breathing in the moist, cool air. A gust of wind swept over her face and she closed her eyes for a moment, letting its coolness wash over her.

Next to her, she heard someone clear their throat, and her wide eyes flew open to meet those of Jason Morgan's.

"Uh-Jason," she stammered, blushing at how foolish she must have looked. "What are you doing here?" _Oh, great, Einstein: brilliant question. _

Jason jutted a chin out at the rain. "Hoping that it'll let up for a few seconds so I can make a mad break for my car."

Elizabeth smiled, swinging her umbrella. "I think I can help with that." She opened it easily and stepped under, waiting for Jason to join her.

He looked at her hesitantly before smiling softly and accepting her offer. The two set off over the pavement, shielded from Mother Nature's wrath by Elizabeth's tent of an umbrella.

"T-Thanks," he said finally, the corner of his mouth quirking up in an unsure smile. "I appreciate it."

"No problem," she assured him, frowning when the wind caused the umbrella to sway. A few drops of rain hit Jason square on the nose before she managed to steady it. "Sorry about that."

His grin was cocky as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "No problem."

The wind continued to howl around them, making it increasingly hard for Elizabeth to maintain her hold on the umbrella. Besides that, her steps grew increasingly unsteady, and before long, the tiny brunette was zig-zagging across the pavement as Jason tried to hold in his laughter.

_At least Lisa isn't here to see this_, Elizabeth thought darkly. Lisa Kelling had been with her during a furious thunderstorm before, and had all but lost it when Elizabeth could barely manage to put one foot in front of the other as the wind raged around them. _She'd never let me hear the end of it._

It seemed as though the wind was trying to wrench the large umbrella from Elizabeth's slender fingers, and the tiny brunette gritted her teeth and held on, muttering curses under her breath.

Next to her, Jason couldn't hold it in any longer, and the tall blonde burst out laughing at her predicament. "Let me get that for you, Wee," he grinned cockily. His wide hand covered her small one on the handle, and another wrapped around her to keep her steady.

"So, where'd you park?" he asked, scanning the crowded parking lot.

His touch burning through the thick leather of her jacket, Elizabeth Webber struggled for words. "Far right corner."

He nodded, spying her Acura, and moved his hand slightly as the wind howled again. A discreet smile rose to his lips as he remembered when Emily used to get blown away by the wind. A petite freshman gymnast, his sister was just shy of 100 lbs. And from what he could tell, Elizabeth couldn't way more than a few pounds more than her.

Elizabeth begged her heart to stop pounding, hoping to God that Jason didn't hear it as it hurled itself repeatedly against her rib cage. _Just calm down, Beth_, she ordered herself. _He's just a boy_.

She tried concentrating on the sound of the rain slamming against the umbrella, or the sight of the seagulls flying overhead.

None of it worked, and she gave up trying.

"I hate the rain," Jason commented off-handedly. "Last time it rained, Sonny and I were coming home from conferences. The visibility was so bad that we decided to play it safe and ended up sitting in the car for an hour."

Elizabeth smiled devilishly at the thought.

_Rain, rain, don't go away._


	3. Be Mine

**Be Mine**

Sydney Morse leaned back against her locker, closing her eyes. Next to her, Sonny Corinthos sighed as well, trying to massage the tension from his neck. The two classmates were seated on the floor by their lockers, reviewing for an English test on the interminable yet oddly enjoyable _Tom Jones_.

Several other students sat with them, studying for their own classes. Among them were Lexi Cassidine, who was busily plotting one graph after another on her TI-86. Skye Chandler, one of Lexi's closest friends, was brushing up on her US History by repeating the chronology of the Civil War under her breath. Even Johnny O'Brien, the rambunctious junior responsible for Elizabeth's tumble, sat still and quiet, trying to read as much of Hemingway's _A Farewell to Arms_ as he could before his second hour class.

Sonny glanced down at his notebook. "OK, Sydney, just a few more. We can do it."

Sydney mumbled, raising her head. Her short brown hair fell into her face, and she languidly swept it back into a ponytail. "OK, shoot. Next question."

Sonny flipped the page, squinting down. "Uh, who's Parson Adams?"

Sydney thought for a moment, frowning at the wall before her. "Isn't he the one that says that Tom's probably the father of Molly's child? You know, at Squire Western's house, right when they're eating, and then Sophia says she has a headache and leaves?"

Sonny shook his head. "That guy's a parson," he admitted, "but he's a nameless parson. Try again."

"No clue, man. Jeepers."

"He's the man that Sophia wants to tutor her and Tom's children. He's on, like, the third from the last page of the book, but I have a feeling that Ms. Hornsby's going to ask."

Sydney grimaced, glaring contemptibly down at the book in her lap. "OK, fine. Why does Northerton go to jail?"

"He hits Tom on the head with a beer bottle."

She nodded, flipping several pages. "What happens after he's released from jail?"

Sonny thought. "He, uh…Wait, I know this. Isn't he involved with Ms. Waters, who's actually Jenny Jones?"

Sydney nodded, motioning for him to continue.

"Yeah, and they're about to run away, and then he tries to rob Ms. Waters, and Tom comes by and thinks he's raping her and beats the crap out of him."

"Right."

"Hey, guys," came a warm voice from down the hall. Both Sonny and Sydney glanced up to see Jason walking down the hall, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his baggy jeans. He had abandoned his Jesus sandals in favor of his favorite sneakers, which squeaked slightly as he walked.

"Hey, Jase," Sonny nodded, leaning back on his hands.

"Jason," Sydney smiled, cracking her knuckles. "How's it going?"

"Not too bad," he replied. He nudged Sonny's sneaker with his. "You ready for the Calc test today?"

Sonny nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I am. I reviewed a little last night, but I knew most of it already."

Sydney shuddered. "Dear God," she cringed. "Calculus. That's the reason I decided not to take math this year." She shot a disdainful glare at Jason, pretending to stomp on his foot. "And look at this one," she said to Sonny. "He's doubling up on math. Disgusting."

Jason laughed, shrugging. "What's there to say? I like Calc _and_ Physics." He glanced at the notebooks and handouts littering the space his friends had taken up. "Do you guys have an English test today or something?"

Sydney nodded. "Yeah, we have a test over the entire book today. I'm so going to fail."

Sonny laughed. "I'm sure you won't," he assured her. "It'll be okay." He straightened, noticing a black spiral notebook lying on the floor by Sydney's feet. He snatched it up quickly, opening the zip of his backpack and dropping it in. "Wouldn't want to forget this," he muttered.

"What is it?" Sydney asked, peering at the notebook as it disappeared into Sonny's green backpack.

"My journal," he answered simply. "I took the trouble of keeping up with three a week, so I better not forget it when it's due."

"How many did you guys have to turn in?" Jason asked, remembering their journal conversation from the week before.

"Last Friday was supposed to be fifteen, but Ms. Hornsby never collected them. So we're turning in eighteen today for sure."

Jason snickered. "I wonder how the Wee One's doing with that."

Sonny smiled. "Actually, she gets out of her first three periods today, the lucky duck."

"How come?" Sydney asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Is it because of that Valentine's…thing?"

Sonny nodded. "Yeah."

"What Valentine's thing?" Jason wanted to know.

"It's the Newspaper annual fund raiser," Sonny explained. "Remember, a few months ago, they had those order forms in the newsletter?"

"Oh, yeah," Sydney nodded. "I remember ordering some for my friends."

Sonny nodded, continuing. "Well, like Syd just pointed out, people ordered balloons through those forms, and sent them in to the Paper Office. Beth took in all the money, helped buy supplies and rent helium tanks, typed out all the name tags, and from what I heard, helped blow up about 300 Mylar balloons yesterday after school."

Sydney grimaced. "Yuck. And she was telling me about how she had to get here an hour and a half before school to help blow up 500 latex balloons."

"Wow," Sonny whistled. "And so after blowing them up, she has to order, arrange, and have them all delivered? Killer."

"Cripey," Jason agreed. He slung his backpack onto the floor but remained standing, folding his arms over his chest.

Just then a streak of white topped with brown streaked past them. Then, as if the streak forgot something, it stopped short and backpedaled to the small group in front of the tan lockers.

"Hey, Beth," Sonny smiled, looking up at her.

"Hey," was all Elizabeth said as she smiled wearily down at him.

"Are you okay?" Sydney asked, taking in the tired note in her voice and her weary posture. "You look _really_ tired."

"I am," Elizabeth sighed, pushing the sleeves of her white sweater up. "I was up super late last night making sure everything was set for the sale today."

Jason had said nothing after she had walked up, even though she stood right next to him. If he shifted ever so slightly, his shoulder would be touching her.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, forcing the corners of his mouth down in an attempt to suppress his smile. Sonny couldn't help but grin as Jason bent his knees and lowered himself several inches, his knees bent at a ridiculously acute angle.

Elizabeth had seen him, too, and it was only when she turned to face him that she saw what he was doing.

"Shut up!" she laughed, smacking him across the shoulder. The look on her angelic face was playfully murderous, and Jason burst out laughing himself as he straightened and leaned out of reach from her abuse. "I'm not _that_ short!"

He rolled his eyes in response, grinning and hopping away when she threatened him with more physical violence. From her seat on the floor, Sydney had almost lost it and was clapping her hands with glee.

"So," Sonny got out as he tried to compose himself for Elizabeth's sake. "Are you ready? For the sale, I mean?"

Elizabeth nodded, shooting Jason a warning glance. "Yeah, for the most part. I got here at six along with the other editors, and we all blew up about 520 latex balloons. It was _not_, shall we say, pleasant. And I just ran up here five minutes ago to grab some of my stuff and –" she paused, pulling a few handouts out of a smiley-face notebook and handing the journal over to Sydney. "I was wondering if you could turn this in to Ms. Hornsby for me."

Sydney nodded, reaching out to take the journal from her. "Sure, no prob."

"Is that your journal?" Sonny asked, closing his copy of _Tom Jones_. After practically re-reading the 900-page clunker the night before, the resident over-achiever knew five more minutes weren't going to do anything for him.

A smug smile rose to Elizabeth's lips. "Yes, it is," she answered, almost bragging.

"So, you miraculously managed to finish?" Jason asked, crossing his arms over his chest again.

Elizabeth looked at him once, trying not to notice how his rugged jeans clung perfectly to his slender hips, or how he wore absolutely nothing under his simple, button-down white collared shirt. "F-funny story, actually."

Jason's eyebrows quirked up. "Do tell."

Sonny leaned forward as well, eyeing his friend suspiciously. "Yeah, Beth," he goaded. "What miracle did you pull?"

Elizabeth smiled cockily down at her friends, folding her arms against her chest. And this time, it was Jason who tried not to notice how perfectly the lacy, crocheted white sweater molded to her body. She wore a red mock-neck tee underneath, the deep color bringing out the roses in her cheek. Her khakis, always spotless, hugged her gentle curves like a glove. Even her silky chocolate hair was pulled into two wavy pigtails that just begged to be undone. She'd even tied them with little red ribbons.

"Up until yesterday afternoon, I didn't even know where my journal was," Elizabeth started. The bell sleeve of her sweater slipped down to her knuckles, and her beaded red and white bracelet clinked gently as she shook her hand free. "But I finally found it under my bed with my Cookie Monster socks and my collection of National Geographic's."

"Beautiful," Sydney laughed.

Elizabeth smiled at Sonny before continuing, almost as if she were gloating. "So I open it up to the last time Ms. Hornsby collected them, which was before winter break, and it turned out that I had written a whole bunch over break, which we didn't have to do, and I'd written a couple more beyond that."

"Oh, my God," Sonny groaned, turning away. He already knew where this was going.

Elizabeth's grin widened as she watched him toss her a look of mock-disgust. "And it turns out that I had written seventeen of the eighteen journals already!"

Sydney gaped at her, her eyes dancing with laughter. "No _way_!"

"Yes, way," Elizabeth insisted with a smile. "So I wrote another one in ten minutes, and I was golden."

Sonny groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. "I hate you," he ground out in agitation.

Elizabeth's eyes danced at his good-natured bitterness. "Oh, I _love_ how my life works," she gloated, waving a hand grandly in the air. "It's wonderful."

Sydney and Jason laughed easily as Sonny shot her daggers from his position on the floor. Jason turned to her, stuffing his hands into his pockets and shuffling his feet.

"You really managed to luck out there, Wee," he teased.

Elizabeth grinned devilishly. "You just have to know how to manipulate the system, I guess."

Jason chuckled sardonically, rolling his eyes. "And you expect me to believe that you know how to '_manipulate the system_', as you put it?" he scoffed. "That the resident nerd, the local Miss Perfect, knows how to coast under the wire with a second left on the clock?"

She ignored his running metaphors, glancing at the clock. First period would start in three minutes, and she needed to be down in the faculty lounge before it did. "Believe whatever you want," she replied with a flippant grin. Jason smirked at her in amusement as she handed Sydney another assignment. "Could you hand in my notes, too, Syd? I'd appreciate it."

Sydney nodded, accepting the typed pages and dropping them on top of her study guides. "Sure, no problem. See you at the vacuum party."

Elizabeth was already leaving, calling goodbye to her friends as she power-walked to the stairwell.

"_Vacuum party_?" Sonny asked, turning to Sydney.

The brunette nodded, shuffling her papers together and inserting them into her notebook. "Yeah. That's what we call lunch." Noticing Jason and Sonny's quizzical glares, she shook her head with a smirk. "Don't ask - you had to be there for it."

"Oh."

* * *

The bell rang, piercing shrilly through the faculty lounge where a group of exhausted newspaper editors slumped on the soft couches. First hour would soon begin, but not that they cared. The ten students were excused for their first three periods, and senior Brendan Mahoney couldn't be happier.

"What're you missing, Brend-o?" asked Paul Kaskovich, a tall brunette linebacker for the school's football team. He squirmed into the small individual couch-chair, finally managing to situate his massive frame. Elizabeth smiled at him, thinking of how ridiculous he looked: much like an elephant sitting on a potty.

"I'm missing a Spanish vocab test, an English _Tom Jones_ test, and an AP Bio test," Brendan smiled with satisfaction, collapsing on the long futon that stood next to the wall.

Next to him, Ryan McPherrin stretched his legs onto the coffee table in front of him, his tennis shoes crossed behind Elizabeth's back as the tiny brunette perched herself on the wooden table. "Milking the sale for all it's worth, I see," he smiled, running his hands through his fluffy Afro of brown curls. At about two inches shy of six feet, the witty senior boy looked like a mix between Screech from _Saved by the Bell_ and Gumby. "That's what I like to hear."

Kali Ciesmier took a seat next to Paul, crossing her long legs and fixing her long black boots. Elizabeth noted that it was probably a Goth day for the tall, lanky blonde artist. Today, Kali was dressed in all black - black boots, black leggings, black shirt-dress that ended high on her thigh - and wore a wide blue cloth belt. Even her red-blonde hair was pinned up in two small buns with black barrettes.

"Will you pass me the paper, Beth?" she asked sweetly, motioning to the stack of newly published newspapers behind Elizabeth. This was probably the first year they had made the mistake of releasing the paper on the same day as the balloon sale - with no one to distribute them through the hallways, few of the students would realize the issue was new, and it would sit in the metal holders, collecting dust, until the next month.

Sitting across from her on a plush chair, Jenny Evrard seemed to be thinking the same thing. The tall brunette watched as Elizabeth slapped Ryan's feet, waiting until he lifted them an inch in the air to grab a new paper. Jenny's hazel eyes followed the publication as it passed into Kali's hands, a smirk rising to her lips.

"Hey, Beth," she called. "Remember when we handed out papers in the freshman hallway back in October?"

Elizabeth grinned, her white teeth glittering in the dark faculty lounge. They had purposely shut off all the lights - except those in the teacher cafeteria behind the partition - because the warm fluorescent lights would have the latex balloons popping right and left. "Oh, yeah. That was a classic."

"What was a classic?" asked Rose Truesdale, smoothing her burgundy skirt before sitting down next to Brendan.

Elizabeth chuckled at the memory. "It was back when the October issue came out, and me and Jenny were among the first editors here to pass them out. Anyway, Roni had already grabbed a bunch of papers to stuff into the faculty mailboxes, and she gave us each a huge stack to pass. So we decided to head to the freshman hallway, because by that time, the rest of you guys showed up and we figured you'd take the main hallway and the other three floors."

Jenny shifted in her seat, slapping her hand on her knee. "We walked into the freshman hallway all swaggering and intimidating-like-"

"And these poor little freshmen are looking at us in sheer terror-" Elizabeth added.

"And we told them that they couldn't graduate if they didn't have a copy of the _Independent_," Jenny finished with a laugh. "You should have seen it - it was a freaking stampede! I'm pretty sure Beth lost one of her kidneys in the mauling that ensued."

Brendan shook his head at his girlfriend. "You two are so evil."

Elizabeth shrugged. "Hey, they're freshman. We all went through it." She thought for a moment, then amended her statement. "Well, actually, _I_ didn't. Not here, at any rate. But my freshman year back in Colorado wasn't anything to brag about, either."

Paul thought for a moment. "You know, we didn't really get much flack when we were freshmen."

On the far end of the futon, Radhika Lakhani nodded. "Yeah, we had a pretty good year. We were teased and stuff, but not nearly as much as we normally would have."

"It's all because of that Sonny _President-of-Student-Union-During-My-Sophomore-Year_ Corinthos," Jenny asserted, shaking a fist in the air. "Mr. Fearless Leader and all that jazz."

Elizabeth laughed, shaking her head at Jenny's mock-tirade against her friend. "You know you love him, Jenny," she chided.

Jenny nodded, shrugging. "It's true."

Brendan shook his head at his girlfriend's capricious nature. "Oi."

Radhika reached for a copy of the paper, flicking Ryan's shoe in an attempt to get him to move. "Anyway, I think he was part of the reason. But we were just a great class in general - we've been told that since middle school." The rest of the editors nodded. "I guess it was because we were all so involved and cooperative and enthusiastic that the upper classmen didn't torment us."

Paul snickered. "Not like we torment _our_ freshmen, anyway."

Ryan snorted, folding his arms behind his head and leaning against the wall. "I hate the junior class," he announced. "They're all such turds."

Brendan shrugged. "Some of them are okay," he defended lamely.

Elizabeth shook her head. "I have to go with Ryno on this - they're really annoying and vacuous and just...ugh."

"And violent," Jenny teased, remembering Elizabeth's "oh-so-graceful-stumble", as the tiny brunette called it.

Elizabeth smiled, stretching her arms over her head and slowly leaning back until she lay flat against the table, Veronica's sweater bundled under her head like a pillow. Ryan shifted slightly, moving his crossed ankles until they were situated more comfortably under the small of her back.

"Tired, Beth?" he drawled, smirking at his friend.

"Mmm," she mumbled, crinkling the nose. "I wish I could fall asleep right here."

"Me, too," Jenny agreed, curling into her chair. "It's so nice and dark in here..."

"And freaking hot," Paul griped. Despite the fact that it was February and he was wearing only a t-shirt, he was still warm.

Elizabeth shifted. "It'd be hotter if the lights were on," she pointed out.

"True."

"Where's Jeff?" Ryan asked, looking around the dark lounge. "I don't see him. He was here tying ribbons, and then he disappeared."

"He had an AP Chem test today," Rose informed him, sipping her orange juice from a Styrofoam cup. "I think he went to the Photo Room to study."

"Oh." Ryan's green eyes followed Veronica Peterson as the tall blonde sped around the room, making a quick count of the bundles upon bundles of balloons. She paused to make a few tally marks on a rolling chalkboard stationed nearby, turning away to resume her count.

Elizabeth, too, was watching her, grateful that her friend was helping her out. Veronica stopped, apparently satisfied, and walked back to the chalkboard and scratched on the final tallies.

"How're the numbers, Roni?" she called out, rubbing her eyes drowsily.

"They check out just fine, Beth," Roni answered, putting down the large chunk of chalk she held. "We did a good job. Last year we had way too many extras; this year we've cut it down to twenty. Now, if these suckers stop popping, we'll be just fine. If they don't, we're screwed."

Elizabeth smiled. "We'll be fine," she replied lazily. "We'll be just fine."

"I hope so," Veronica replied, making her way to the large table in the middle of the lounge. Half of it was covered with hastily strewn Mylar balloons, glimmering in the light that shone down from behind the partition. The other half was held the three containers of bagels and four boxes of orange juice along with all the necessary paper products, all courtesy of Ms. Bedford, who apparently believed that a well-fed newspaper staff was a happy newspaper staff. None of the editors had ever complained.

Ryan and Brendan watched Veronica draw a cinnamon bagel out of the container along with a small tub of cream cheese. The blonde flipped the lid off easily and plunged in her plastic knife, smoothing the creamy fluff onto the bagel.

"Bagel break," Brendan announced, jumping off the couch. Ryan followed suit after lifting his ankles underneath Elizabeth's back. The slight levitation roused the drowsy brunette, who sat up quickly so her friend could satisfy his need for a breakfast bagel.

Jenny emitted a soft snore from her seat, and Elizabeth smiled at her as she took up Brendan's vacated seat next to Rose. Kali's newspaper had fallen across the blonde's slender legs as she drifted off into her own daydreams, her head propped up on the wall behind her.

Radhika picked up her empty cup from the end table. "I need some orange juice," she excused herself, getting up and walking to the table where the rest of the editors were playfully pushing each other and playing keep-away with the last cheese bagel.

Rose took the opportunity to scoot closer to Elizabeth, smugly smiling at her friend.

"So, Elizabeth," she drawled, playing with a lock of her dark blonde hair. "Did you order balloons for a special someone?"

Elizabeth studied her suspiciously, her midnight blue eyes narrowed and guarded. "Why?"

Rose tried to suppress her smile at the growled question, and Elizabeth instantly realized that she knew.

"Who told you?" she demanded in a whisper, turning on her friend.

Rose giggled, biting her bottom lip and shrugging playfully. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Don't you play games with me, Truesdale," she warned, jabbing a finger at Rose's nose. "Tell me straight: who told you about Jason?"

Rose shook her head, regarding her friend with amusement. "You're _such_ a psycho, Beth," she grinned. "I didn't _really_ know anything - but you just confirmed my suspicions, as well as those of several third parties."

Elizabeth paled, her eyes wide. "What are you talking about?"

Rose smirked. "Petey and I were talking yesterday with Brenda and Skye, and the balloon sale came up. We started teasing Brenda about sending Sonny a balloon, and then Petey blurted out that she wondered if you'd have the balls to send Jason a bundle."

Elizabeth groaned, burying her face in her hands. _Damn you, Pietras_.

"And then Skye asked if you two were already a couple or not, and Brenda asked her what she meant, and then Skye was confused, and said that she thought that you had a thing for Jason, and that was when Petey said she thought the same thing." She shrugged, shooting Elizabeth a lop-sided grin. "So I thought I'd do a little investigating, _if_ you can call it that. Jeepers, Beth, you make it so easy sometimes."

Elizabeth groaned again, slumping back on the couch. "Damn you all."

Rose giggled, shifting closer. The rest of the editors were still horsing around with their bagels, so there was little danger of being overheard. "So?"

Elizabeth peeked out from under her hands, giving Rose a suspicious sidelong glance. "So, what?"

"So?" Rose persisted. "Did you get him a balloon or didn't you?"

Elizabeth gaped at her, surprised she was even asking. "_No_, of course not," she sputtered. "Those forms came out, like, three months ago. I had absolutely no contact with him at that point. We didn't even talk at all. For me to get him a Valentine's balloon with some goofy mushy message would be too forward and assertive and presumptive."

Rose was used to Elizabeth's rambling, and the blonde propped an elbow onto the back of the sofa. "Is it still?"

Elizabeth regarded her for a long moment before sighing and pursing her lips together sourly. "Yes."

* * *

The bell rang again, and third period began. Elizabeth and Rose leaned against the doorway of the lounge, standing in the bright and cool hallway during the passing period. Several of their friends called hello, and the girls smiled and waved back, often chatting with their friends as they stopped by the door.

Jason walked past the lounge, glancing at Elizabeth. She was talking to Rose and Sydney's boyfriend Charlie, who was a good friend of his. He walked on, not wanting to be late to his Woods class. His only elective in the midst of an AP and Honors-crammed schedule, the class was his only chance during the day to blow off some steam and take it easy. It was just something about whamming a hammer into a thin, insignificant little nail that he found oddly soothing at times.

The bell rang again, and the hallway was empty except for the few late stragglers who were now running across the linoleum at breakneck speed.

Elizabeth grabbed the last stack of hole-punched nametags from her Ziploc bag, thanking God that they were almost done. The Student Council sent this last bundle to the teachers and other faculty members.

The other editors drifted slowly out of the lounge, all silent in their weariness. Elizabeth handed each of them two cards and they plodded back into the lounge to grab two latex balloons for each card and tie them through the hole.

Presently, they came back out and Elizabeth checked the list once more before sending them on their way. Fifteen minutes drifted by in this manner, with Elizabeth passing out the cards and consulting her list and her co-editors roaming around the building to make the deliveries.

When they trudged back, Elizabeth was waving a small stack at them. "Last round, guys," she called happily. "Two each, and we're all done." She distributed the cards, all of them for teachers, and kept her two favorites for herself.

She followed Ryan in to the lounge, holding the cards for Mr. Dillon Hornsby, her AP US History teacher from last year, and his wife, Ms. Georgia Hornsby, her current AP English teacher. Ryan swiped down two pink and two white latex balloons for her, and she quickly pulled them through the holes in the nametags and knotted them tightly.

Kali passed her with her own bouquets, and Elizabeth followed her into the hallway. The other editors emerged within minutes and stood waiting for Elizabeth's command.

"Once you've got 'em, just go," she directed, already beginning the long walk down the hallway to the stairs. "Let's get this done with."

This was greeted with cheers and whistles, most half-hearted out of sheer weariness. Some of her friends disappeared into the science wing; others went down to the foreign language and design hallway. Elizabeth, followed by Jeff, Kali, and Ryan, ascended the stairs onto the sophomore floor, their red, pink, and white balloons trailing behind them.

The other three went off down the hallway to their respective rooms, and Elizabeth knocked on Room 204, Mr. Hornsby's classroom. He smiled and waved her in, all while bouncing a small super ball against the ceiling and laughing as it ricocheted around the room, almost hitting Johnny O'Brien on the head.

"Hey, Mr. Hornsby," she grinned, extending one bouquet. "I have some balloons for you."

"Hey, Beth," grinned Johnny, waving at her from his seat.

"Beth," smiled Sydney's boyfriend Charlie. Next to him, his best friend Ryan Lanman also smiled.

Elizabeth smiled at all the greetings as Mr. Hornsby took the two latex balloons from her outstretched hand. "Aw, Beth," he smiled. "Did you get me balloons?"

"_No_, Mr. Hornsby," she replied with a smirk. "No, I did _not_."

He glanced at the card, which read, _From your Student Union_, then glanced at a larger balloon that belonged to one of the girls in his class. "You know, I think I like this one better." He then attempted to snatch the bouquet; trying to pull out several of the glitzy Mylar balloons as the rest of the class laughed.

"Did you get any for your wife?" asked Kristin Zavislak, a petite blonde in the front row.

"No, I didn't," Dillon admitted, abandoning the tightly knotted balloon bouquet.

"Speaking of coincidences," Elizabeth interrupted with a smile, "I have your wife's balloons with me, here."

"Hey, Beth," called Charlie. "Tell Mrs. Hornsby that Mr. Hornsby lost his wedding ring."

"What!" Elizabeth gasped, turning on her favorite teacher who was now laughing out of a mixture of apprehension and embarrassment. "You did _what_?"

"He lost his wedding ring!" shouted Johnny, leaning back in his desk.

"Tell her," insisted Ryan, tucking his pencil behind his ear.

"Don't," Mr. Hornsby warned as a laughing Elizabeth backed out of the room.

"Do it!" yelled the class as she shut the door behind her.

Elizabeth followed the stairs up to the third floor, still smiling. Mr. Hornsby's class was her favorite class throughout her entire high school career, and he was hands-down her favorite teacher. His incredible sense of humor, combined with his impressive accumulation of knowledge in the field as well as his genuine desire to impart knowledge, had gotten her and the rest of her US AP classmates to pass the exam with flying colors.

She knocked once on Room 311, twisting the doorknob and walking in. Ms. Georgia Hornsby smiled at her from above her copy of Madame Bovary.

"Beth," she greeted. "What've you got there?"

"Special delivery for Ms. Hornsby," Elizabeth smiled, extending the bouquet to her petite blonde teacher.

"Are they from Mr. Hornsby?" Sonny asked, glancing up from his test booklet.

"No," Elizabeth grinned devilishly. Ms. Hornsby took the balloons from her, gently untangling them and letting them float to the low ceiling. "But I'd check in with Mr. Hornsby sometime soon, if I were you," she warned. "He has some news for you."

"Uh oh," muttered Mrs. Hornsby with a suspicious smile. "Is it something bad?"

"I can't really say," Elizabeth hedged. "Because otherwise, he'd step on me."

"Okay," Ms. Hornsby replied, suspicion clouding her blue eyes. "I hope he didn't do something too terrible."

Sonny snickered in his seat, lowering his head when Ms. Hornsby looked at him.

"I've got to go," Elizabeth excused herself, playing with the bell sleeve of her sweater. "There's still some more work to be done."

"I'll see you Monday, then," Ms. Hornsby smiled, returning to her desk.

"Later, Beth," Sonny called as she opened the door.

"Bye," called the rest of her friends as the door clicked softly shut.

* * *

"Are those the last of them?" Ms. Bedford asked, standing by her desk. She gazed up at the balloons amassed in the small Paper Office, doing a quick count.

"Yup," Elizabeth nodded, folding up her list and dropping it on her own desk. "These are the extras along with the absentees."

"OK," Ms. Bedford nodded. "We'd better start calling the absent kids and letting them know that they can pick them up after school. Where's the Raider Rap?" she asked, referring to the student phonebook.

From his seat on one of the recliners, Ryan McPherrin pointed lazily to the file cabinet next to Roni's desk. "Up there."

Jenny snagged it, flipping it open. "I'll read you the names and numbers, Ms. Bedford," she offered. "And you can call."

"Sounds like a plan," Melissa agreed, sitting down at her desk and reaching for the telephone.

"First, Mike Corbin, 469-5698."

Ms. Bedford dialed and left a message, saying the office would be open until 3:30 and the balloons could be picked up then.

Presently, all absent kids were called, and the editors slumped back in their seats, exhausted after a long morning of nothing but balloons.

"How many extras do we have again?" Elizabeth asked, standing in the middle of the office. Ribbons hung down like vines and latex and Mylar balloons alike covered the ceiling.

"Twenty two," Roni answered, spinning in her seat. "We can take some, right?"

"Right," Ms. Bedford nodded. "Take as many as you want. We have to clear the extras out of here."

The boys jumped up immediately, each of them grabbing one Mylar balloon. Ms. Bedford rolled her eyes, shaking her head at them, which caused Paul to exclaim, "What? We've been so good all day - we haven't even sucked any helium. We deserve this."

Kali laughed, grabbing three latex of her own. "I think they do, Ms. Bedford," she agreed. "Remember last year? They sucked helium every ten minutes. This year, they didn't do anything."

Ms. Bedford just laughed, her blue eyes falling on Elizabeth who still stood poised in the middle of the office. "What about you, Beth?" she asked, a Cheshire cat grin on her face. "Are you going to take any?"

Elizabeth glared witheringly back at her teacher. "_No_, Ms. Bedford, I am _not_."

"Ok, if you say so," Melissa conceded with a laugh. At her desk, Rose tittered with laughter as well.

"We've gotta get going, Ms. B.," announced Ryan, tucking his balloon under his arm. "We'll see you after school."

"All right," Melissa answered as they walked out of the doors. "Thank you."

Jenny and Rose rose as well, both stretching out. Kali and Roni followed suit, grabbing their backpacks. Elizabeth took one more glance around the office before grabbing her Calculus notebook and graphing calculator. "We'd better be going, too," she said, running her fingers through her wavy pigtails.

Melissa nodded. "Thank you girls so much for your hard work. None of this could have been done without you."

"No problem, Ms. Bedford," they echoed, drifting out of the door.

"Where are you guys headed?" Jenny asked, flipping her auburn hair over her shoulder.

"Kali and I have a Calc test," Elizabeth answered with a groan. "I don't know about you, Kali, but I haven't studied at all."

"Me neither," Kali agreed. "It's hard to actually _study_ for something like Calculus. You pay attention in class, and you either know it, or you don't."

Roni agreed. "Still, I'm not looking forward to that test, and I have it tenth period."

They ascended the steps, each of them lost in their own thoughts. The bell rang and the hallway was soon flooded with other students. Kali and Elizabeth waved to other girls and climbed to the second floor, making it inside their classroom with two minutes on the clock.

Charlie and Ryan, the only two juniors in the class, were seated at their desks, engrossed in their Rubik's cubes.

Elizabeth dropped her notebook and calculator on her desk, and then walked over to Charlie's desk. "So, guys," she began, flipping one of her pigtails. "What did you mean about Mr. Hornsby losing his wedding ring? What's the story on that?"

Charlie laughed, still absently twisting his cube. "It's nothing really," he answered. "Just one of those things that we like to blow out of proportion."

"What happened was that he came to class and started teaching, and you know how he has a habit of twisting his wedding band as he talks?" Elizabeth nodded at Ryan, who resumed his explanation. "Well, he goes to do that, and all of a sudden notices that his ring isn't on his finger."

"And when we ask what's wrong, he says that he thinks he lost it," Charlie added. "And then he said that he probably - as in hopefully - left it on his dresser in the morning, but we'd already lost it and were threatening to tell Mrs. Hornsby."

"And that's when you walked in," Ryan continued. "And it was just a perfect opportunity to freak him out by making him think you'd spill."

"Did you?" Charlie asked eagerly, leaning forward in his desk.

Elizabeth smiled. "I dropped a hint, nothing much. Just enough to land him in some warm water."

"Excellent," Ryan snickered, doing his best imitation of Mr. Burns on the Simpsons.

Charlie laughed, turning back to Elizabeth. "So anyway, who were those balloons from?"

"Student Union," Elizabeth answered automatically. "They sent two balloons to each of the two hundred faculty members, believe it or not."

"Wow," Ryan whistled. "That's pretty nice of them."

"Yeah," Elizabeth replied witheringly. "Pardon my bitterness, but everyone forgets that it was the newspaper staff that had to blow up, knot, tie a ribbon to, and deliver all those balloons." While she loved all the members of the Student Union, especially considering that Sonny was the president for his third year running, she couldn't help but be a tad exasperated with them, especially after they promised to send members to help but then didn't.

"That sucks," Charlie sympathized. "Were you guys in charge of the carnation sale today, too?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "That was Student Union," she replied.

"Oh." Charlie ran a hand through his hair, trying to smooth down his stubborn semi-cowlick. "Would you believe that I didn't get a single balloon _or_ carnation?"

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at him, even though he knew he was just joking and that he didn't care either way. Sydney and him hadn't gotten together until after the forms went out, so she understandably hadn't been able to send him any.

"Me, neither," Ryan griped, abandoning his Rubik cube in favor of his graphing calculator.

"Aw," Elizabeth smirked. "You poor little dears. Tell you what," she shifted on the desk, folding her arms across her knees. "I'll get you both a balloon."

Ryan and Charlie both laughed, and would have told her not to bother had Mr. Alcazar not walked in at that moment.

"All right, kiddies," he grinned, setting down his textbook and an all-too-thick stack of stapled tests. "Get out your pens or pencils and get ready to hate me."

Elizabeth resumed her seat next to Sonny, the two of them waiting patiently for their teacher to hand out their imminent doom. Elizabeth glanced sideways at him, noticing the two latex balloons from Student Union and another bundle of two Mylar balloons.

"Pssst," she whispered, leaning toward him. "Who're those from?"

He ducked his head in an attempt to hide his grin, a blush stealing onto his tanned skin. "Brenda."

Elizabeth laughed, punching him on the shoulder. "Woah, there, Sonny, please tell me you sent her some, too."

Sonny laughed and turned to answer, but Mr. Alcazar smacked him lightly on the head with a pile of tests.

"All right, Bonnie and Clyde," he chided jokingly. "Get to integratin'."

* * *

The students of Mr. Alcazar's period 4/5 AP Calculus class trudged dejectedly out of Room 209. All of them, of course, except Sonny and Ryan Lanman, who strolled out knowing they had owned that exam.

Charlie held the door for Elizabeth and Kali, waving to the girls as they turned to go up the stairs to the third floor.

"What'd you think?" Kali asked, shifting the strap of her backpack over her narrow shoulders.

"I _think_ I failed," Elizabeth sighed, balancing her notebook and calculator on her head.

"Me, too," Kali agreed. "It's okay, though."

"Yeah," Elizabeth nodded. "After all, '_Who Cares'_?"

Kali laughed at Sydney's favorite expression, coined in English a few weeks ago. "True. The Czar said himself that he'd fix our grades at the end of the year if he saw that we were putting some effort in and working hard."

"Exactly," Elizabeth agreed. "And we certainly are."

The girls separated at the top of the stairs, each heading to their lockers. Elizabeth dropped her math junk inside, drawing out her Spanish textbook. Remembering that she left her lunch down in the paper office, she quickly locked her locker and raced down the steps, her pigtails bouncing gaily with the movement.

Ms. Bedford was on the phone when Elizabeth walked in. Elizabeth waved hello, depositing her junk on her desk. It took her a few minutes to sort through the jumble of papers and notebooks in her backpack, plucking out the ones she'd need for her next two classes. The backpack was zipped closed and stashed securely under the desk, out of sight.

From there, Elizabeth walked toward Roni's desk, where she'd left her Lone Ranger lunch box. She glanced at the clock and pulled her grapes out of the lunch box, munching them as she waited for Ms. Bedford to finish.

Her teacher finally put down the telephone and turned to her. "Hey, Beth."

"Hey, Ms. Bedford," she replied, pulling another grape into her mouth. "I just wanted to double-check to see if there were any problems since I left."

"Well," Ms. Bedford replied, leafing through a stack of papers on her desk. "We did get one complaint from a student who sent his girlfriend a bouquet, and she didn't get it."

"What's the name of the girl?" Elizabeth asked, already moving toward the desk.

Melissa handed her the list. "Dara Johnson, I think."

"Her balloons are right there," Elizabeth pointed. "She must have been mistaken for absent. You know, I see her sister right after ninth hour, so I'll tell her to tell Dara to pick them up here after school."

"Sounds good," Melissa smiled, taking the list from her. "Are you going to eat lunch down here?"

Elizabeth glanced at the clock again. She now had fifteen minutes left in her lunch break. "Actually, no. I think I'll head up to the lunchroom. Right after I grab a couple of balloons."

Melissa didn't bother hiding her smile as Elizabeth grabbed three Mylar balloons, one _I Love You_, one _Happy Valentine's_, and one _Be Mine_. "Are they for your Golden Boy?"

"_Ms. Bedford_!" Elizabeth exclaimed, turning on her teacher. She resisted the urge to say _Bite your tongue!_, thinking it might be disrespectful, and settled instead for an indignant, "Sh!"

"Well? Are they?"

"No," Elizabeth replied in a _shows-what-you-know way_. "They're for Ryan Lanman and Sydney's boyfriend Charlie. They were a bit miffed that they didn't get any balloons, so I said I'd send them balloons." _And if I just happen to have an extra balloon, and if Jason just happens to sit with them at lunch, well then, so be it_.

"Oh," Ms. Bedford nodded. "That's nice of you. I'll see you after school?"

"Maybe," Elizabeth answered as she walked out the door, the three shiny balloons following after her. "Bye."

"Bye, sweetie."

* * *

Elizabeth walked into the crowded and noisy cafeteria with her lunchbox and an entourage of balloons. She made her way to her table, noting that Jason's seat at his normal table was vacant.

"Hey, Beth," Lexi smiled, taking a bite from her turkey sandwich. "How's it going? I haven't seen you in forever."

"It's going okay," Elizabeth replied with a smile. She set her lunchbox and books down on the table, maintaining a hold on her balloons as she opened her lunchbox.

"Cantaloupe in a bag?" Sydney noted with a smile.

"Yup," Elizabeth grinned, holding up a sandwich bag full of cut cantaloupe. "How else would one eat it?"

"I don't know," Sydney grinned, holding up her own salad-in-a-bag. "It seems like the only way."

Elizabeth agreed with a chuckle, plunging a plastic fork into her bag. Brenda made her way from the cafeteria line, a small carton of chocolate milk in her hand. She poked Elizabeth on the shoulder with a smile, squeezing past her to her own chair.

Elizabeth's eyes fell on a very large bouquet of Mylar and latex balloons tied on the brunette's chair. "Hey, Bren," she smiled knowingly, her sapphire eyes glittering. "Who're the balloons from?"

Brenda grinned in response, her coal-black eyes dancing with delight. "Sonny," she bragged, her cheeks reddening slightly.

Elizabeth pretended to size up the bouquet. "Not bad at all," she smirked. "How's it compare with the two you sent him?"

Brenda laughed. "Not very well, but what do I care? He's a guy, after all - they don't need balloons."

Elizabeth chuckled, polishing off the last bit of her orange melon. "True, true." She turned to Sydney, motioning to the balloons in her other hand. "Speaking of which, I'm off to deliver a balloon to that boyfriend of yours."

Sydney smiled, confused. "Why?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "He and Ryan were complaining about how they never got any in Calculus, and since we have a whole bunch of extras in the office, I thought, why not?"

Sydney nodded. "Ok, I'll come with you. I have some extra candy that I think he'll want, because, frankly, if I eat any more of it, I'm going to be sick."

Elizabeth waited as Sydney finished her salad, drawing a red apple from her lunch box. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

The girls got up and left their table, chatting as they walked to Charlie's. Elizabeth noticed that Jason had just returned from the cafeteria line with his usual hamburger, French fries and fruit punch.

"Hey, Charlie," Sydney smiled, standing between her boyfriend and Ryan. "Ryan."

"Hey, guys," Elizabeth smiled, leaning an elbow against the back of Charlie's chair. "How's it going?"

"Okay," Charlie answered, craning his neck back to look at her. "What'd you think of the Calc test?"

Jason watched Elizabeth keenly, already nervous about the test he'd be taking tenth period.

"Challenging," Elizabeth answered simply, tugging on the balloons she held. "Some of the stuff came totally out of left field."

Jason grimaced at his hamburger as Sydney dropped a bunch of candy in front of Ryan and Charlie. "You guys can share that," she offered.

"Thanks, Syd," Ryan smiled, already picking out a mini Snickers before Charlie wolfed it all down. He turned back to Elizabeth, adjusting his slim glasses and brushing some of his blonde hair off of his forehead. "Did you get the bonus?" he asked.

Elizabeth nodded, careful not to say anything too revealing since Jason had yet to take it. "Yeah. It was hard, though."

"What've you got there?" Charlie asked pointedly, gesturing to the balloons he knew were for him.

Elizabeth smiled at his boyish egocentricism. "Balloons," she replied, stating the obvious. She selected the _Happy Valentine's_ one, pulling it from the others. "You're lucky we had so many extras."

She handed the two others to Sydney, bending down to tie the red balloon to Charlie's wrist. "There," she smiled, satisfied. "Now you have your very own balloon."

"Yay," Charlie cheered, tugging the balloon. "That makes me happy."

Sydney laughed at his childishness, shaking her head. She let Elizabeth pull the _I Love You_ one from her hands and watched as she turned to Ryan.

"Ryan, here's one for you," the brunette smiled, tying it around his wrist as if he were a small child.

"Thanks, Beth," he smiled, looking up at it. "I appreciate it. I don't know what it is, exactly, about balloons, but they just brighten up your day."

Sydney agreed. "I think it's the whole inner child aspect of it," she explained, playing with a lock of her hair. "When I was little, I _loved_ balloons. I just _loved_ them."

"Me, too," Elizabeth nodded. She was already slightly nervous, knowing there was one balloon left, and only one other person she'd like to give it to.

Sydney seemed to be reading her thoughts, much to Elizabeth's embarrassment. Still, the tiny brunette felt oddly grateful when her friend prodded, "So, Beth? Doesn't Jason get one?"

Jason blushed at the question, paying more attention to his hamburger than was necessary. And darn it - where was his napkin? He'd have to get up and get one.

Elizabeth grinned devilishly at her friend. Normally, she would have been horribly mortified, but what could she say? She was feeling especially brave at the moment, after orchestrating such a huge sale for the entire school, and she'd better take advantage of the feeling before it passed and her normal sagacious, prudent self took control.

"You're right, Syd. _Of course_ Jason gets one."

Jason blushed again, flashing his classic wide grin without even knowing why. Elizabeth was already moving past Sydney and toward the end of the table, a charming smile on her face as her slender fingers toyed with the red ribbon.

"No, it's okay," he got out as she neared his seat, the _Be Mine_ balloon following her dutifully. "Really, I don't need a balloon."

"Did you hear that, Beth?" Sydney teased, her hazel eyes never leaving Jason. "He doesn't need one."

Elizabeth was already next to him, barely coming up to his chin. She leaned forward, her wavy ponytails swinging forward and brushing against his upper arm. "Well, that's too bad," she laughed. "Because he's getting one."

Jason's stomach clenched as her cool fingers came in contact with his forearm. Despite his best efforts, he felt his face flame up as he watched her knot the ribbon around his left wrist, attempting to tie a shoe-knot like she had on the other boys.

Sydney swallowed her giggles as best as she could as she watched Jason. The tall blonde, always the one for joke and a little rough-housing, was apparently completely unequipped to deal with even the most innocent of advances from her friend. He stood still, although protesting, as she tied the balloon on, his classic grin dominating his face.

The butterflies in Elizabeth's stomach did the Macarena as she tied the ribbon. She attempted to make the one loop to wrap the other part of the ribbon around, but her trembling fingers refused her brain's commands, making her seem like an unskilled preschooler as she repeated the procedure, barely managing to tie the ribbon correctly. And all the while, she tried not to stare at the glow of his healthy tanned skin from underneath the thin fabric of his shirt.

"No, I don't want a balloon," Jason continued to protest half-heartedly. Across the table, Sydney could tell he didn't mean it. "I have a test in two periods and..."

"Well, you've got one," Elizabeth quipped, putting a hand on her hip as she stood next to him. She glanced at a laughing Ryan and didn't notice the way Jason's gaze passed over her.

"Do you mind if I pop mine, Beth?" Charlie asked, already pulling the balloon down to his mouth.

"I'd be insulted if you didn't," she replied with a laugh. "You're all welcome to pop them and suck in the helium, because I'm told that's what high school boys do in the presence of balloons."

Jason laughed as Charlie bit into the balloon, making a small puncture. He sucked in the gas slowly, tightly cinching the partially deflated balloon when he was done.

"_Oompa, loompa, doompa di doo_," he sang, eliciting guffaws from his friends.

Ryan followed suit, sucking out a small amount of gas. "_Ding, dong, the witch is dead_," he sang. Jason, sipping his fruit punch, almost spit it out across the table.

"Dude, you sound the same," he laughed, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. Next to him, Elizabeth covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. All Jason had to do was glance at her before she erupted, too.

"It's because his voice is naturally so high," Charlie teased, popping a mini Reese's cup into his mouth.

"Oh, that's low," Ryan growled good-naturedly. "No guy wants to be told he still sounds like the pre-pubescent version of himself."

Sydney laughed at him, playfully ruffling his hair. "There, there, Ryan," she teased. "Don't let it get to you. Not all boys can be foghorns."

"Like Charlie Brown over there," Elizabeth finished, smirking at her friend's boyfriend.

"Hey!" cried an indignant Charlie as the girls excused themselves.

"Sorry, Charlie," Elizabeth sang out, following Sydney back to their table. The girls looked over their shoulders to see the boys still sucking helium and singing show tunes.

* * *

"So, who's it from, Morgan?" demanded Marcus Taggert, one of his friends in tenth period Calculus. The tall African American boy reached up on his toes to poke the sparkling balloon. "Who wants you to be theirs?"

"No one."

"If it's no one, then why are you being so defensive?" Marcus teased. "Who is it?"

"Elizabeth, okay?" Jason answered, throwing his hands up in the air. "Geez!"

"Hey, no need to get so worked up, Morgan," Luke Spencer teased, punching him on the arm as he moved to get some Kleenex.

"Oh, but there is," Marcus replied with a smirk. "Especially when the giver is _Elizabeth Webber_."

Jason turned away and pretended to skim through his notes before the test, determined not to let the rest of the boys see him blushing. "Drop it, guys."

"Aw," Marcus teased. "What is that, Jason? Are you -- _blushing_?"

Luke hooted loudly, tossing his used Kleenex into the garbage can. "Yeah, Morgan!"

Marcus got up from his seat, unable to stop tormenting his friend. "All the way," he laughed, punching Jason on his already bruised shoulder.

"Boys, boys," Mr. Alcazar yelled, shaking his head. "Is there any chance you ruffians are going to stop fighting like kindergarteners? '_He said this!_' '_He hit me here!_' '_He did this!_' '_He did that!_' Geez!" He shook his head, running a large hand through his black hair as he chuckled. "Come on, people, let's not resort to violence."

"Yeah," Jason retorted, flipping back and snatching Marcus' calculator from his desk before the soccer player could make a move for it. He held it up in front of his face, taunting the boy. "See that?" he jeered playfully, gloating about his quick reflexes. "That's a ninety dollar slap right there."

He didn't even hear Luke move behind him, and whipped around in surprise as the trumpet player plucked the calculator easily from his fingers.

"True," Luke smirked, handing the graphing instrument back to Marcus. "But that blush on your face a few seconds ago? That was damn near priceless, Morgan."


	4. On The Right Track

**On the Right Track**

"For the last time, _stop doing the wave!_" Mr. Alcazar shouted, slamming the chalk onto his desk. Met only with hastily hidden grins and stifled giggles, the Spaniard dragged a hand through his thick hair as he bowed his head, trying to conceal his own smile from the class. But knew he was failing miserably when the giggles grew less discreet.

Even with their AP exam in less than three months, his period six Calculus class seemed to be hell-bent on doing anything but studying. Instead, they were doing the wave.

He shook his head with a chuckle. Arranging the desks in U formation around his desk had most definitely been a mistake.

And seating Sonny Corinthos next to Jason Morgan had also been a terrible mistake. The two track team captains were his very own Pied Pipers, and they were leading the rest of the derelicts astray. Even his perfect little Elizabeth Webber – _little _being the operative word – was growing more and more hyperactive under the deliberate and defiant guidance of her best friend. Sonny had long been trying to get her loosen up, and it was no coincidence that Mr. Alcazar had nicknamed the two Bonnie and Clyde. In their little corner with Jason and Luke, the two were as thick as thieves.

"Honestly, what am I going to do with you hoodlums?" Mr. Alcazar asked, shaking his head as he allowed a flusteped grin to surface. "It's a battlefield in here every day."

Sonny grinned back at his favorite teacher. "Sorry, Czar, but the battle's been won – we've captured Elizabeth!"

The petite brunette let out a laugh as she reached out to smack his shoulder. "Stop objectifying me, _Don_ _Corinthos._".

"Then stop calling me _Don_."

"Then stop bossing me around, _Don._"

Jason grinned at the constant banter between the two. "Hey," he broke in, sweeping a gaze across the room. "Do we need to start another wave?"

"No!" Mr. Alcazar burst out, clapping a hand to his forehead. "No more waves – we've had enough. Now you derelicts are going to sit still and learn the Rolle Theorem if it kills you."

"Sorry, Czar," Luke Spencer apologized with a grin. He ran both hands through his unkempt hair as he leaned back in the uncomfortable wooden desk, stretching. "It's about that time."

Elizabeth glanced at the clock. Five minutes left until the bell for lunch rang. This was when everyone put away their books, much to the annoyance of Mr. Alcazar, and got ready for the mad dash to the parking lot. Even though lunch was only twenty-five minutes long, most seniors braved the death trap of a parking lot and the crazy, death-defying drive to the local fast food joints if it meant they could escape PC High for a little while and actually see the outside world. Since the architect who had designed the school several decades ago had been primarily used to designing prisons, it was no surprise that PC High had very few windows, except those on the stairwells.

Jason had told her a while back that he believed he was solar-powered. It made sense, he had claimed. When he got to school, it was dark, which resulted in his early-morning comatose appearance. When he came back from lunch he was always hyperactive, just like he was when he practiced on the track after school.

And Jason was always one of the first kids out the door when the bell rang, sometimes even before it rang. But the most antsy child was no doubt Marcus Taggert, who was busily dumping his notebook in his backpack even as she jotted down the homework.

Marcus always made it a point to leave class approximately three minutes early, just to annoy Mr. Alcazar. Sometimes it amazed her how the man never seemed to be angry with them despite all of their shenanigans.

"Not today, you miscreants." Her teacher's voice boomed across the room as it always did when he was trying to be authoritative. "Today you're not leaving until you learn the Rolle theorem, or so help me God-"

"Hey, Czar, no sweat," Luke drawled, sliding out of his desk and already sauntering toward the blackboard. Mr. Alcazar stared at him in surprise – Luke normally slept through most of the class. It was a welcome change to see him actually displaying an interest.

Elizabeth, however, knew better, and she could barely conceal her smile as Marcus slipped out of the room, waving a grateful hand at Luke for causing the diversion.

"Rolle's theorem," the tall blonde continued, placing a finger at the vertex of the parabola his teacher had drawn. "On every continuous function between point a and b, there shall be a point c that is not differentiable."

He glanced up at Mr. Alcazar, undeterred by the eyebrow the older man lifted in challenge. "So basically, all Rolle Man's saying is that every parabola must have a vertex."

"Exactly," Elizabeth crooned, shutting her own notebook as Luke sauntered back to his seat, shooting a triumphant grin at his teacher.

"You think I don't pay attention, Czar," he scolded, wagging a finger at the smirking Spaniard. "But I know my stuff."

Mr. Alcazar put his hands up in the air, signalling defeat. "Fine, Spence, fine," he agreed jeeringly. "But I don't think Cluver's going to believe me if he catches you sleeping again and I say that you're learning subconsciously."

Luke laughed at the mention of one of PC High's deans. "Don't worry," he laughed as he grabbed his notebook and calculator and stood up. A free spirit, Luke didn't believe in bringing a backpack to school – he said it cramped his style. "I've got him in my back pocket – he loves me."

"You keep telling yourself that, you little hooligan," Mr. Alcazar muttered, rolling his eyes. Luke Spencer was one of his favorite students, and he admired the young man's capability to learn so quickly and effortlessly. Still, the trumpet player was not above his ribbing. "I could tell how much he loved you the last time I saw you sitting in the detention room."

Luke pressed his lips together, a hint of a smirk passing on his face. "Touché, Czar, touché."

Mr. Alcazar shook his head, as he was accustomed to doing repeatedly in this class, and closed his textbook. Something must have occurred to the man suddenly because in an instant, he snapped his head up and scanned the room. "Hey – where's Marcus?"

No one answered. And no one met his eyes, choosing instead to stare at the tiles or study their feet. But Mr. Alcazar thought he saw the tail end of a smirk on Elizabeth's face, and that was all the answer he needed.

"He skipped out again, didn't he?" he demanded.

Elizabeth stifled a giggle as she watched her teacher's nostrils flare when he placed his hands on his hips.

"He may have gotten out today, but I'll be ready for him tomorrow," Mr. Alcazar vowed, shaking his head and snorting like an impatient horse.

The bell rang and the rest of the class got up, shooting sympathetic smiles at their flustered teacher.

"Sorry, Czar," Jason called out as he sped for the door. "You never had a chance."

Sonny followed quickly at Jason's heels, anxious to get out to his car. After all, today was Fishy Friday, which meant that just a few blocks down at Long John Silver's, there was a platter of shrimp and a side of cole slaw with his name on it. "Better luck tomorrow!"

Mr. Alcazar shook his head and slumped down in his chair, smiling at the rest of the children as they filed out. Elizabeth smiled cheekily at him and he raised an eyebrow as she walked toward the door. "Even you, huh, Webber?"

"Why, Mr. Alcazar," she replied with a saccharine sweet voice, batting her eyelashes in feigned innocence. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"A likely story, Bonnie," her teacher growled out, squeezing some hand lotion from the tube he kept on his desk. "Don't let those young hoods lead you astray."

Elizabeth leaned her way-too-thick Calculus book against her hip as she quirked an eyebrow at her teacher. "You're aware that these _young hoods_, as you call them, are honor students and two-year track captains."

Her teacher glowered at her, but his eyes widened before he could flip back some taunting remark. "Wait –the track meet's today, is it not?" His shoulders slumped when Elizabeth nodded. "I should have wished those boys good luck." Always one for school spirit, Elizabeth knew how much her teacher believed in positive reinforcement before big events. The day before Conference, he had dedicated a full ten minutes of his valuable teaching time to give Sonny and Jason a pep talk about the importance of teamwork, moral support, and whipping the other guys' butts. "When do they leave?"

"At about three o'clock," Elizabeth answered matter-of-factly.

Mr. Alcazar nodded. "I'll see them before then. But if I don't, pass along the message for me, Bonnie."

"Will do, Czar," Elizabeth called over her shoulder as she left the classroom and walked up the stairs to her locker.

She knew how much Mr. Alcazar enjoyed the school sports, and track and basketball had always been at the top of his list. He rarely missed a meet, but she knew he'd have to miss this one – it was his little girl's birthday the next day. So while Mr. Alcazar was helping little Sophia blow out her candles, Jason and Sonny would be running the 3200 meter relay.

The track team would be leaving after school and taking the school's athletic bus down to New York City, where all the other qualifying high schools would be meeting. They'd check into a hotel and then get up early the next day to run at the meet. And this wasn't just any meet – it was the State Conferences. This was the big event that the runners had prepared for all year long, and she knew how important it was to Sonny and Jason that their team at least place in the top three.

Brenda was driving down there to cheer the PC High Raider Runners on, that much she knew. It had been all the brunette could talk about ever since Sonny personally asked her to come. She'd played it cool like she always did, saying that she had nothing much to do over the weekend anyway, but inside, her best friend had been jumping for joy.

Elizabeth smiled at the thought. It looked like Sonny was finally taking the initiative and making some headway – his almost-relationship with Brenda was blossoming. And blossom it should, too, especially since Sonny had told all the guys that Brenda was off-limits right at the beginning of senior year. The loudmouth dancer had originally thought she must have been struck by halitosis at the rate the guys disappeared when she walked by, and never suspected that the local _Don_ of the Student Union had everything to do with it.

Elizabeth figured it would only be a matter of time before Sonny worked up the courage to ask her out. For a while, he was able to hide behind seemingly innocent excuses – he'd ask her to come to the Welcome Back Raider Social to 'manage concessions', or he'd invite her to Student Union parties at his house because she'd helped with various projects. And now he was inviting her – or rather, begging her – to drive downstate with them to cheer the runners on. But Elizabeth had little doubt that Brenda would be cheering for only one of them.

The outlook for her and Jason, on the other hand, wasn't so rosy. In fact, everyone seemed to know about "her and Jason" except for Jason. It had even passed the point of ridiculous. Every time she passed by him in the hallway, she'd hear some sort of whistle or cat-call or hooting. Thankfully, Jason remained painfully oblivious to it all.

What with all the talk of Brenda going down to cheer on the runners, Sonny had been unable to escape his fair share of the teasing as well, and Mr. Alcazar even got in on the act during their Calculus class.

On some vain and foolish level, Elizabeth had hoped that Jason would ask her to attend as well. She wouldn't have minded a detached and even borderline flippant, "Hey, since Brenda's coming down to see us, maybe you could, too." It wasn't too much to ask for, right?

Wrong.

Jason had remained even quieter around her than usual, and the only words he said directly to her the entire period were, "Psst! Elizabeth! Start the wave!" How romantic.

And even while wishing he would show some interest in her, Elizabeth couldn't help but feel foolish. Here she was, so completely wrapped up in a tall, blonde, athletic fop of a boy that she could barely seem to do anything right. Things that were so effortless before now required intense concentration; she forgot the most important things and then ran around at last minute when her brain finally kicked in; even her teachers were beginning to wonder, and nothing was worse than having your Chemistry teacher set down his goggles and ask, "Honey, do you want to talk about something?" after everyone filed out of the room.

With a sigh, she stooped down on the tiles to unlock her locker. She was really going to have to shape up soon. There was no way she could continue on like this – she had too many responsibilities, too many duties to risk messing everything up just because she was hung up on some dumb boy.

Some dumb boy with perfect California highlights and bright blue eyes and a body Adonis would kill for.

With an angry huff, she shook her head and yanked the combination lock out. Opening her locker only a few inches, she managed to shove her notebook in and remove her Spanish textbook, then quickly slammed the door back in place and locked it, watching as it bulged out a few inches after she stepped away. She really should clean it out sometime afterschool.

"Beth! Beth!"

Elizabeth stood up to an excited yell belonging to her best friend. "Hey, Bren."

The tall brunette hopped to a stop before her, a wide smile adorning her face. "Hey, yourself. Want to go eat outside by the band room?"

Elizabeth nodded. It was a nice day outside, and there was plenty of sunshine. It was best to take advantage of it. "Sure." She winced when her hair caught in her necklace. Brenda noticed and moved forward, craning her neck to see what was causing her friend so much discomfort.

"What's wrong?"

Elizabeth winced again. "My dumb necklace. It's snagged in my hair, I think."

Brenda's fingers found the necklace. "Here, let me help."

Elizabeth let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when Brenda untangled her hemp choker. "Thanks."

"Cute necklace," Brenda noted. "Where'd you get it?"

"Actually, my grandma made it for me," Elizabeth explained, her fingers tugging the necklace down. It was a simple, thin hemp choker with several deep blue beads woven into it. "She gave it to me last year on the night of my Honors recital."

Brenda nodded, knowing how worried Elizabeth had been about it and how she'd practiced her piano piece for two solid weeks beforehand.

"It's our good luck necklace, I guess," Elizabeth shrugged. "The recital went great, and every time I needed some luck, the necklace helped."

"It's ma-gic," Brenda crowed, wiggling her eyebrows. Elizabeth laughed, shaking her head. "But, no – I understand. It's cool. Lots of people have luck charms. Sonny has this poker chip that he won over the summer, from when his family went back to visit Cuba and his dad let him gamble for the first time. And Jason's got his blue hackey-sack."

Elizabeth's lips pursed at the mention of Jason. She just couldn't seem to escape him. "Yeah, well. Let's go downstairs before I die of hunger."

Brenda smirked at Elizabeth's change of demeanor. "I second that. I need to fill up before I leave with the track team," she teased. Elizabeth's sigh was so soft that it was imperceptible, and Brenda figured her best friend was just ignoring her playful ribbing as always.

The two made their way down the hallway, Elizabeth trudging under the weight of her new resolution to snap herself out of her Jason-induced stupor, and Brenda skipping with joy at the thought of joining the object of her affections downstate.

* * *

The last bell rang and the senior hallway flooded with kids. Some dawdled at their lockers, some raced for the stairs, but most of them were gathered in a rowdy circle around the cross country runners, who stood proudly among their peers wearing their sharp red and blue windbreaker outfits.

Sonny flashed his signature grin complete with dimples as he looped an arm over Jason's shoulders. Jason glanced at him and forcibly grinned back while Sonny answered the crowd's cheers and questions. He loved the school spirit that was being displayed at that moment, and he loved being right in the thick of it. He pumped his fist in the air and lead the crowd in cheering, "Raiders! Raiders! Raiders!"

Jason stood by his side as he always did, the strong and silent captain. Sonny usually handled all the crowds and the questions and the girls. A smirk rose to his lips as he spied Brenda and Elizabeth walking down the hall towards them. The girls crowded around Sonny had better watch out, and for that matter, Sonny should as well.

Brenda pushed through the crowd and Sonny soon found her at his side, quirking an eyebrow at him in amusement and quickly bringing him back down to earth.

"Hey, Bren," he grinned warmly. She smiled back in reply, sweeping a gaze over the students that crowded around them.

"Look at this mob," she remarked in wonder, taking in all the seniors and juniors crowded together like a blood clot. "I've never seen this much energy before."

Sonny shrugged grandly. "What can I say? State conferences."

She nodded. "True." Leaning around Sonny, she tapped Jason on his broad shoulder and smiled warmly when he looked at her. "Psyched yet, Jase?"

Jason rolled his eyes at the outspoken brunette. She knew how much he hated being the center of attention when it came to these things – it wasn't as if he ran his fastest or trained his hardest for these _crowds_. He did it because he loved to run and compete and because it helped clear his mind. Under ideal conditions, they'd all leave him alone and let him run his race. "Well, I'll tell you one thing – I'm likin' the idea of heading downstate more and more ever since _you_ showed up," he replied sarcastically, squirming away when Brenda tried to hit him.

Luke Spencer was the one to save him from the fiery bombshell's attack. Standing in the back somewhere, safely shielded from the view and the mob, Luke had taken his trumpet out of its black case and started playing the school song. Before long, the entire crowd was tapping and jumping along to the lively notes of his golden trumpet.

"All right, you little demons," came a loud voice down the hall. Sonny, Brenda, and Jason all turned around to see Mr. Alcazar standing firmly at the end of the hallway, his arms crossed over his chest. "I know you're all excited, but you're causing a raucus in the building. If you want to do that, do it outside."

Luke dropped his trumpet, hiding it behind his back and began to slowly slink off down the stairs. The rest of the students, after much straggling, followed him down to the main entrance where the bus was waiting for the runners.

The hallways slowly cleared as the kids ushered the cross country team down the stairs. Mr. Alcazar made his way slowly over to Sonny, Jason, Brenda, and Elizabeth, who still had yet to say anything.

"Just wanted to wish you boys luck," he smiled in encouragement. "Run your best, but don't kill yourselves over it – rememeber, we're proud enough that you boys qualified for state. You're the first team in the history of the school to do so. We've come close many times, but you're the first ones we're sending down to the Big Apple. Do your best – you'll do us proud either way."

Sonny and Jason grinned at each other and each of them shook their teacher's hand. "Thanks, Czar. We'll tell the guys that, too."

Mr. Alcazar nodded and turned away, calling over his shoulder. "And remember – whatever you do, be sure to beat Llanview's butts."

"Not a problem," Sonny muttered under his breath. He turned back to his friends, winking at Elizabeth and smiling down at his feet when Brenda casually rested an arm on his shoulder.

"You know, Jason," she drawled, "be prepared to have your own private cheering section right here." The brunette wagged her thumb at herself with a smirk. "And don't say I didn't give you fair warning."

Jason rolled his eyes, wishing Brenda didn't have the power to get under his skin like she did. "Tell you what, Barrett," he tossed back, "how about you stick to cheering for your _Don_ over here and not pay any attention to me?"

A suddenly self-conscious Brenda hastily removed her arm from where it rested on Sonny's shoulder and tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear in a futile attempt to conceal her blush. "Y-you can't escape that easily, Morgan," she chided. "I'll be sure to drown out all the other spectators when you're running."

Sonny laughed, there being no doubt in his mind that she'd do it if it meant Jason would be annoyed.

Jason shot his best friend a dark glare before turning his attention back to Brenda. "I'd rather have hot pokers shoved up my nose than listen to your nasally voice whooping and wailing while I run, Barrett, and that's the truth."

Elizabeth snickered at the zinger, then realized too late that she shouldn't have, for now Brenda's attention was tuned on her. And the brunette was going to make her pay.

"Tsk, tsk," she clucked, her eyes darting from Jason to Elizabeth. "That's not a very nice thing to say. I wonder if you'd say the same thing to Beth if she came down to watch."

_Damn it_, Elizabeth cursed inwardly, narrowing her eyes at the brunette who dared to put her in the uncomfortable spotlight.

Jason didn't seem to know how to respond, and swallowed noisily before replying, "But Elizabeth's not coming down." The statement seemed to be a question, and it was directed more at Elizabeth than anyone else. "Are you? Would you, I mean?"

Sonny dipped his head to hide his smirk. It wasn't his job to make this as awkward as possible – it was Brenda's, and he knew she wouldn't disappoint.

Elizabeth felt her throat go dry and struggled for a suitable reply. Heck, forget suitable – any sort of reply was more than welcome.

"I'm not sure if I can," she replied honestly. It was the truth – even though she had secretly hoped Jason would ask her to come down, hoping and actually being able to were two entirely different things, as her luck would have it. "I have a lot of work to do this weekend – I already have to start planning out the Senior issue of the paper and I promised to volunteer."

Jason nodded, trying not to show his disappointment, and settled for one of his classic grins. "No problem, Little One," he tossed back easily. "We understand."

Brenda's lips hooked downward. She had really been hoping that she could embarrass her friend into driving down with her. Next to her, Sonny grabbed Jason's shoulder roughly.

"Come on, man, we have ten minutes 'til three," he pointed out, indicating the clock in the hallway. "The guys are waiting, and Preuss is going to kill us if we're late."

Jason nodded, then cringed at the mention of their fiery coach. "Yeah," he sighed, looking away from Elizabeth. "We should get going."

Sonny turned to Brenda, trying to keep his eyes glued to hers and not the low neckline of her off-the-shoulders, 80's style red sweater. "When are you coming down?"

Brenda considered it a moment. "I think I'm going to go home, change and eat, and hopefully be out the door in about an hour and a half."

Sonny nodded, inwardly not really caring what her plans were so long as she'd be down there with him. "Sounds good."

"Yeah," Jason chuckled, running a hand through his silky hair. "It should take us that long to get everyone checked into their rooms, anyway."

Elizabeth had to smile. The thought of fifteen high school boys staying on the same floor in the same hotel was just too funny – she didn't even want to think about how frazzled the maids and bellhops would be by the end of the weekend.

"All right," Brenda crowed with a dazzling smile directed at Sonny. "I'll see you boys later, then."

Sonny nodded, sliding her a flirtatious sidelong glance that made Elizabeth roll her eyes despite herself. "See you soon, Bren."

Elizabeth stepped up and laid a hand on his shoulder, and her bemused grin told Sonny exactly what she thought of the previous exchange. He blushed and looked away as she wished him luck.

"Thanks, Beth." Brenda, still dawdling around, smiled at the two of them.

Elizabeth turned to Jason hesitantly, all mirth gone. "Um, good luck, Jason. I'm sure you'll do great."

"Thanks," Jason smiled, clasping his hands behind his back and stretching idly. His windbreaker pulled tightly across his pectoral muscles, and Elizabeth had to make a conscious effort not to drool.

In the background, Sonny snickered at them and then grabbed Brenda's arm, tugging her a few paces away and speaking to her in a low voice that Elizabeth could barely hear.

"Are you nervous?" she asked Jason curiously, noting his casual stance and the carefree smile his lips twisted into.

"God, yes," he let out on a sigh, allowing a flustered grin. "We've never qualified for state before – there's so much riding on us, you know?"

Elizabeth nodded, and Jason knew she understood the weight of responsibility he felt now better than anyone else would. He found himself wishing he could be more like her – she was always swamped with schoolwork and extracurricular crap alike, and she never complained. Well, except for the Valentine's Day Balloon Sale and the 400 latex balloons the Student Union ordered for all the teachers. Sonny had a nice little bruise on his arm for that stunt. He claimed he walked into an open cabinet, but his friends knew better.

Still, Elizabeth was always able to juggle her duties around effortlessly, completing each one on time and not even skimping on quality. It made him wonder how she did it, how she pulled it all off without a hitch, and it made him wish he could borrow some of her resilience and strength.

"All I know is that we _have_ to place in the top three at least. Everyone's counting on us – I hope we don't screw up."

Elizabeth nodded, watching him carefully. This was one of the first times she was seeing him in this light. Normally, Jason was gregarious and loud and carefree, but his attitude showed her that he was really zealous and focused when it came to things he took seriously. And running was one of them.

"Don't get too caught up in what everyone else is thinking, Jason." She chose her words carefully, feeling odd offering him advice. "No one else outside the team matters. Just do your best and walk away knowing you gave it your all."

Jason was watching her, scrutinizing her as carefully as she had him. When he spoke, his voice was low and raspy. "How do you do it, Little One?"

Elizabeth's eyebrows pinched together. "D-do what?"

"_You_ have way more riding on you than I can even come up with. And what's more, you're _always_ responsible for some thing or another. And yet you never flip out about it – it doesn't affect you."

He watched as her eyebrows climbed up her forehead. "_It doesn't affect me?_ Of course it does! I flip out all the time – or haven't you noticed?"

He smiled at the teasing tone of her voice. _Oh, I've noticed_, he wanted to reply. Instead, Jason settled for a non-committed, "You don't seem like you do."

She amused him by rolling her sapphire orbs. "Trust me, I do." The words were followed by a self-assured shrug, and Jason could only watch as resilience and competency seemed to radiate off of her. "I just don't let myself caught up in it, you know? I don't believe in dwelling on these things. If I keep myself busy working on what I have to work on, then I don't have the time to sit down and think about how swamped I am. I don't have time to doubt myself, or wonder if I'll be able to get the job done or if I'll be able to keep up with everything else or if I'll actually be able to get some sleep at night. I just push through it all, and don't take a minute to breathe until I've put a good deal of it behind me."

Jason considered her words, tilting his head to the side as he nodded. "Good advice."

Her smile was immediate and dazzling. "I do what I can."

They stood silently for a moment, content to just regard each other. Sonny and Brenda's hushed snickering broke them out of their silent reverie, and Elizabeth shifted self-consciously, not noticing how Jason glowered at his friend with a _shut the hell up_ expression distorting his handsome features.

"Anyway, I'll keep that in mind," Jason got out, his eyes focusing on her once more.

Elizabeth nodded. "Just remember that you're running this for yourself. You guys were obviously good enough to qualify, so I don't think you need to waste your energy wondering if you stand a chance. Don't let the nerves overcome you."

He nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I think I'm the only one that's _this_ worried about it, actually, to tell you the truth. Look at Sonny," he added, gesturing to his friend. "He's fine – he's still cracking jokes and flirting with Brenda. Maybe I should just be more like him."

Elizabeth's eyes flew wide open. "I don't think so," she ground out, one eyebrow raised high. "Don't _ever_ be like Sonny."

Jason grinned. "I don't know, being a dimpled _Don_ has its advantages, I'd think." He was spurred on by the cute little way her eyes narrowed and her nose crinkled. "Just think about it – I could spend my time ruling the school, having my pick of girls, being a general ass and getting away with it…"

"And _I _could spend my time beating you up," Elizabeth finished, her lips pursed together as she tried not to smile at his teasing.

Jason sized her up quickly, a smirk rising to his lips. "I don't know – you're kind of puny. I doubt you'd get much leverage on me."

Elizabeth bit her lip as she narrowed her eyes at him, letting him know _exactly_ what she thought of his macho attitude. "Don't be fooled – I'd beat you good."

Jason reached a hand out to pat her on the head. "You keep telling yourself that, Little One."

Elizabeth's eyes widened at the gesture, and Jason stopped, thinking he might have taken it a bit far. He told himself to withdraw his hand, but his brain adamantly refused. Instead, his fingers smoothed down her open hair, tucking the lacy curtain of locks behind one little ear.

Elizabeth's eyes stayed glued to his as his fingers trailed over the shell of her ear, wondering why she couldn't form a coherent thought. The gesture was innocent enough, surely. Right?

But a sharp pain behind his hand had her wincing again, and Jason leaned forward hurriedly. "What's the matter? What's wrong?"

Elizabeth's hand was already at her nape. "Nothing, nothing, just my dumb necklace." Jason watched, his hand poised in the air in case she needed any assistance, as she tugged at the hemp necklace. Finally, she managed to tug it off, holding it against her palm.

Jason inspected it. "It looks like the one Sonny wears," he noted. "Only it's got blue beads instead of black ones."

Elizabeth nodded. "Yeah. I guess these things cross gender lines." Jason smiled as she dangled the necklace from her dainty fingers. "Anyway, I love it, but it is forever getting snagged in my hair. It's the clasp – look at it. It may be good luck, but it's not meant for people with long hair."

"It matches your eyes perfectly." Christ, had he really said that aloud?

Even as Jason wondered if his brain had commandeered his mouth of its own accord, a pretty little blush stole across Elizabeth's porcelain cheeks. And at that, Jason had to smile – just knowing that he had that affect on her, that he could do that to her, was enough to erase all his insecurity.

"Thanks."

Jason dipped his head in acknowledgment and began to shuffle his sneakers on the floor. "So," he drawled on, wanting to continue the conversation for as long as he possibly could. "Why is it good luck?"

"Well, I had a piano recital last year, and it was about the biggest thing in my life at that point," she explained. "I was the one that wanted to take piano lessons – my parents thought it would be a waste. And so I completed the first course, but to continue practicing and move on to the next course level – with a professional teacher, too – I had to audition. And my audition was this recital. Now, I'd never auditioned for anything in my life before, you know? And the audience was full of strangers, some of whom I had to really impress if I wanted to keep playing. Plus, it was kind of also about showing up my parents – proving to them that I was good at piano, and that it wasn't a waste of time like they thought."

Jason nodded, not understanding how the parents of someone so inherently bright and talented could be anything but completely supportive, but he didn't want to interrupt her so he kept listening as she spoke.

"My grandma was the only one who knew how nervous I was about that thing. She'd see me practicing all day and halfway through the night – my parents were at the hospital anyway, so they didn't get home until really late, and had no idea whatsoever. And then one night she found me asleep on the piano bench, and she called my grandfather, who carried me up to bed. The next day, they fought off my parents and let me stay home from school. When I finished practicing that night, my grandma came downstairs and gave me this necklace."

Jason watched as she smiled, liking how her whole face brightened at the thought of her loving grandmother.

"It was just hemp and some beads, but she'd worked on it for two days. She has arthritis, too, in her fingers, so it was really quite remarkable that she was able to weave it together. I came away later that week with a stunning audition, and I've had the necklace ever since. It's kind of a reminder that even though we face challenges – my audition and her arthritis – we can always overcome them." She stopped, blushing again, and Jason's face softened as he swept his eyes over her delicate features. "Listen to me – I sound like something out of Aesop's fables."

"No, no," he assured her. "It was a very nice story, and I can tell how much it means to you. Everyone needs something to bring them luck, even if they don't believe in luck. It's just a matter of assigning value to things, and that's what gets you through, you know?"

Elizabeth smiled. He actually got it. "Yeah, I know exactly what you're saying. Don't you have a certain hackey sack that you say brings you luck?"

Jason's face fell. "Actually, not anymore. My little brother took it from my room, and he lost it. So, no luck for me today."

"Oh, that's terrible," Elizabeth clucked. "I'm sure he feels terrible about it."

Jason shrugged, looking down at his feet as he tapped the toes of one foot on the other. "Yeah, I guess. AJ's like that, though – he's kind of irresponsible. He told me he took it because he wanted to play with it just like I did, so I can't really blame him too much. He's just a kid, after all, and he couldn't stop apologizing. He said it was probably in the garden somewhere, and he was out with his flashlight until my mom told him to come back in and stop trying to extend his bedtime."

Elizabeth chuckled. "I was like that when I was a kid," she confided in him. "I was the outspoken, loud, crazy little kid with sticky fingers and a knack for breaking expensive things."

"You're kidding." Jason couldn't believe his ears. "You?"

"Yes, me," she insisted with a smile. "I used to drive my sister and my parents crazy. The stories I could tell you," she trailed off with a chuckle. Jason laughed, hoping she'd tell him these stories sometime. "It was my grandparents, actually, who managed to calm me down. They were the only ones that I'd listen to, I guess."

A smile lit up Jason's face. "You know, my family tells me that AJ and I were like that with our grandmother. She's lived with us ever since I was born, and I totally get what you mean. Grandparents – they're a different sort of breed." He was rewarded with Elizabeth's tinkling laughter. "So I totally get why that good luck necklace is so special to you."

"Why is the hackey sack so special to _you_?" Elizabeth wanted to know. She had rehashed her life story – now she wanted his.

And Jason wouldn't dream of disappointing her. "My grandmother crochets," he explained. "And she knits and embroiders, too. I think it was when I was six or seven years old. My little cousin Chloe wanted to go to this artsy-craftsy summer camp deal, but she was only five, and her parents didn't want to let her. So my parents felt the need to step in – as they always do – and volunteer my services. Basically, I'd go with Chloe every day to this camp. It was just a few hours long and held at the rec center a couple blocks away from the hospital."

Elizabeth nodded, knowing which one he meant. She and Sarah had gone there, too.

"So every day, I'd bike over to Chloe's and we'd go together. She'd sit on the handlebars of my bike, but I had to be careful not to let her mother see that."

Elizabeth noted the way Jason's features softened when he spoke about his little cousin. Obviously, he had a strong sense of family, which was rare in boys his age.

"So we'd go there and spend several hours making sock puppets and planting flowers. Chloe loved every minute of it. I, on the other hand, wanted to shoot myself. And then they got us started on knitting and all that crap, and-"

He was interrupted by a peal of laughter. Elizabeth was cracking up like no tomorrow, and all at his expense.

"What's so funny?" he demanded, both hands on his hips. Sure, he liked it when people laughed at his jokes and antics, but this seemed different. She was laughing _at _him.

"N-nothing," she sputtered. "It's just that I can so picture you with two knitting needles in your hands-" she glanced at his large hands and exploded with laughter again. "And I think it's so cute that you did that all for your cousin."

"Yeah, well," he shrugged, blushing under her praise.

"So go on," she urged, moving closer.

"Well, we had this one project where we each had to sew or knit something. Chloe naturally just sewed a skirt for one of her dolls. Unfortunately for me, I had no clue about how to do anything related to sewing, seeing as how I spent the lessons at camp squinting at the baseball game on the janitor's tiny television. So I came home and whined so much about how stupid it all was and how I'd never want to sew anything because I could just go out and buy it that my grandmother took me up to her room and got out her old Singer."

"Oh, boy, this is getting good," Elizabeth teased, swallowing her smirk when Jason narrowed his eyes.

"Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," he continued, his eyes twinkling. "She got it out and asked if I had ever played hackey sack. I had no idea what she was talking about, but then she said that all the young boys back in her days used to play it. So she told me what it was and helped me make the inner lining for it. Then she got out some blue yarn and her needles, and put them in my hands and actually showed me how to knit. It was the strangest thing, and addicting, too. My dad couldn't stop laughing when I accidentally brought my knitting to the table!"

Elizabeth giggled again, enjoying hearing about his family. This was a different side of Jason, one that she had never seen before –and she liked it. He was always professing this devil-may-care attitude, but inside, he was a really sweet boy.

"So long story short, my grandmother and I made a hackey sack for me. I've had it ever since then, and it's never failed to bring me luck. Well, until my doofy brother lost it," he added with a touch of resentment. "My grandmother will just say that we can make another one, but that's not the point. I want my old one."

Elizabeth nodded. "Understandable. I just hope AJ finds it in the garden after all."

Jason sighed. "That makes two of us. In a perfect world, he'd find it, oh, right now," he shrugged with a quick glance at his watch. "And then when my parents would drive down to see me, he'd give it to me before the race. Fat chance, though." He winked at Elizabeth, his lips curving into a rue grin. "Guess I'll have to find a new good luck charm."

Elizabeth blinked, a light flashing in her deep blue eyes. "Hey – I've got it!"

Jason stared at her. "Got what?"

She smiled back at him, holding out her hand. "Your new good luck charm!" she exclaimed triumphantly.

Jason looked at the dainty hand in front of him. The hemp necklace lay nestled in her palm, the blue beads sparkling under the fluorescent lights. "I-no, Elizabeth, I couldn't," he sputtered, backing away a step. "You love that necklace – I can't take it."

"Borrow it then," she urged, pressing closer. "Just for the weekend – it'll bring you luck, I'm sure of it. It's a grandma thing."

Jason grinned, considering it. It was a mighty tempting offer, and he liked the idea of having something of hers with him as he ran at the state conference. It was kind of like in _Idylls of the King_, where Lady Guinevere gave Sir Lancelot her handkerchief to wear around his arm as her favor. "I-I don't know…"

"Take it," she insisted, standing up on her toes and reaching for his neck. She had looped the necklace around him and was cinching the clasp before he could even form a coherent thought. "There. Now you have a substitute good luck charm."

Jason felt a warm blush steal up his neck, igniting where her fingers had brushed so innocently and sweetly against his skin. _Oh, boy._ "Uh - thanks."

Her eyes sparkled. "No problem."

"No, really," he insisted, his light blue eyes penetrating her dark ones. "Thank you. I really appreciate it. No one – no one's ever done something like that for me."

Elizabeth smiled at his rambling. "Hey, like I said, no problem. I mean, since I can't come myself…you know." He nodded. "But you only get to wear it on one condition."

"What?" His eyebrows knitted together when he timidly asked, fearing that she'd snatch it away.

"You have to stop being nervous and doubting yourself." Her smile was small and sincere. "You have no reason to. You'll be wonderful – I know it."

Jason felt his lips pull into his widest grin yet at her words. She was amazing. He rarely managed to work up the courage to talk to her, and yet she still gave him great advice, told him personal stories, and believed in him. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good," Elizabeth nodded once.

"And you have to promise me something, too," Jason warned her, quirking an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"You have to _promise_ not to breathe a word of what I told you about knitting to anyone."

Elizabeth's eyes twinkled at his words. "Not even Sonny? How about just Sonny? Oh, Sonny?"

"No!" Jason exclaimed, jumping back when Sonny approached them.

"What, Beth?"

She smiled sweetly at Jason, never removing her eyes from him as she spoke to Sonny. "You boys are going to miss your bus."

Jason sighed in relief as Sonny glanced at his wristwatch and swore. "She's right," he got out, grabbing his red duffel bag from the floor. "We've gotta go – now."

Jason nodded, swooping up his own track bag. "Thanks, Little One," he grinned, shooting Elizabeth a grin that made her insides flutter. Jeepers creepers, did that boy have any idea how gorgeous he was?

Sonny smiled warmly at Brenda and squeezed her hand before he turned and walked down the hallway, calling out his goodbyes to both of them and missing the way Jason winked at a blushing Elizabeth. "We'll see you in the Big Apple, Bren! Bye, Beth!"

"Bye," the girls called out, waving as Sonny and Jason disappeared down the stairs.

Hardly a second had passed before Brenda pounced on her. "All right, Webber, what was that all about?"

"What was what about?" Crap. She was screwed. Brenda wasn't about to let this one go.

"You know what I mean," the brunette replied witheringly, tossing her dark locks. "What were you and Jason so wrapped up in?"

"Nothing," Elizabeth insisted defensively. "We were just talking."

"About…?"

"What else? Conferences! Geez, Bren!"

Brenda's lips curved into a sour twist. "Wrong. Try again."

"Look, he was nervous. I was just giving him advice."

"You two were _laughing_," Brenda accused as if it were something heinous.

"He was telling me about something funny he did when he was little."

"Oh," Brenda crowed with a dazzling smile. "So now we're at the 'Share Childhood Stories' phase? Wow, you two don't waste any time!"

"Give it up, Bren, seriously." Elizabeth turned around and started walking for the stairs, knowing Brenda would only follow at her heels.

"Fine," Brenda relented, a mischievous note in her sultry voice. "But this isn't over, Web. It's just beginning."

"Yeah, most original line ever, Brenda – you must be real proud."

Brenda ignored the sarcastic comment and turned her attention to the skies. "Was there any rain in the forecast for this weekend, Beth?"

"Scattered showers tonight, overcast tomorrow," Elizabeth replied easily. She had made it a habit to check the weather before she left the house, despite how everyone teased her for it.

"Good to know," Brenda smiled, sneaking a sidelong glance at her best friend. Now, it was time to get to work. "It'll be nice for the races tomorrow."

Elizabeth nodded. "Yeah, should be. I hope it's not as frigid in the City as it is here."

"Well, we get the Canadian winds, so I should think downstate would be a little warmer," Brenda supplied. "I wish you were coming with me, Beth. Think about it – it'd be so much fun! Me and you on the road, my Dean Martin CD's on rotation in the car, seeing all the boys run, going out afterwards. It'd be great!"

"Yeah," Elizabeth sighed, frowning at the tiles. "It sure would be."

"Then why don't you come?" Brenda pleaded, urgently placing a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder.

"Because I told you – I have so much work to do," Elizabeth reasoned.

"Oh, please," Brenda huffed. "You can do that later. The senior issue doesn't come out until May – you have more than enough time to plan it. Plus, what are the other editors for? And you volunteer all the time – send some of the other National Honor Society members down there. Let them get in their hours."

"But Bren, I'm an officer – I have to show up every Sunday and do it."

"No you don't," Brenda disagreed. "That's not a rule. It's just a rule you made up in that noble, selfless mind of yours. You don't have to go. You can come downstate with _me_." She paused as another thought occurred to her. "Is it because your parents won't let you?"

Elizabeth snorted. "My parents don't really care as long as I get good grades. That's all they're worried about – that my grades are good enough for Johns Hopkins next year." She sighed. "I'm not worried about them."

"Then why can't you come?"

"I don't know!" she burst out. "I've never been out of state before without one of my parents or grandparents with me. And we're going down to New York City, for crying out loud! It'll just be the two of us and about fifteen boys, all down in the city with no adults whatsoever, because you know Coach Preuss isn't going to spend his time chaperoning us."

"So _that's_ what you're nervous about," Brenda said softly. There was a pause, one that she was hesitant to break. "Are you afraid Jason'll put the moves on you?"

Elizabeth's head snapped up. "No!" she exclaimed. "Of course not!"

"Then what is it?"

The petite brunette looked away, and Brenda could see her face flush as red as a tomato. "Nothing."

"Don't you dare give me that, Web," Brenda scolded, pulling on her best friend's elbow until she looked at her. "What is it?"

Even though she was mortified under Brenda's interrogation, Elizabeth couldn't help but let a giggle escape her lips. "Believe it or not, I'm afraid _I'll _put the moves on Jason."

Brenda stared at her, shell-shocked. It was a long moment before the brunette could contain herself, and when she did, she burst out laughing. "Wait – _what!_"

Elizabeth shrugged, grinning. "I don't know – shut up," she added when Brenda had to sit down on the pavement because she was laughing so hard.

"_Elizabeth!_" Brenda squealed, almost toppling over. "I never knew you had it in you! Woah! And I never in a million years thought I'd hear that! Woah – wait, now you've _got_ to tell me everything!"

"What's there to say, really, Bren?" Elizabeth asked, sitting down next to her. "I mean, you've seen us on the rare instances when we're together – just the two of us. We ignite. It's as simple as that. It's like no one else is around us, and we're in our own little world. Something clicks, Brenda, when I'm with him, something that I never even knew existed."

When she found the courage to look back at her friend, Brenda's face was hard and stoic. "Where's your necklace?" she demanded, her voice cold.

Elizabeth's gaze dropped to her hands, and that was all the time it took for Brenda to discard her stony façade and burst out into laughter once more.

"I gave it to him," she said meekly.

"YES!" Brenda crowed, pumping both fists into the air in triumph. "Why?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "I don't know – he lost his good luck charm, I gave him mine."

"I saw you putting it on him," Brenda admitted with a smirk. "You should have seen his face."

Elizabeth's heart skipped a beat. "Oh, no – Bren, what did he look like? Was it a 'what the hell does she think she's doing' look? Did I go too far? Damn it, I knew I went too far!"

"No, no, Beth, no," Brenda reassured her with a comforting smile as she gently patted her hand. "Not at all. He looked so surprised and so – I don't know – genuinely happy when he figured out what you were up to." She quirked a brow at her best friend. "What _were _you up to, by the way?"

Elizabeth bit her lip. "I don't know what you're trying to say."

"Oh, you do, too," Brenda insisted, scooting closer. "You, dear friend, were shamelessly flirting with him."

Elizabeth stared at her through narrowed eyes, then decided that to deny it would be futile – Brenda knew her too well. "It's true."

"I knew it." Brenda's smile was brilliant. "Just like he was flirting with you after your little tumble outside Sydney's locker."

"He was _not_ flirting with me then," Elizabeth scoffed.

"He was, too, but I'm not going to argue about it," Brenda snipped. "And I'm not going to argue with you about this anymore, either. You're coming down to New York with me, Elizabeth Webber, and that is that."

"But Brenda," Elizabeth sputtered. "I can't – I just told you why."

"Look," Brenda said, her eyes blazing with determination. "This is what's going to happen. Unbeknownst to you, I have the same fear about myself with Sonny." She hurried on, not paying attention to Elizabeth's cheeky grin. "He's a real snake charmer, I can tell you that much. So this is what we're going to do: you're going to watch out for me, and I'll do the same for you. We'll have a great time, just the four of us."

It sounded good. Very good. And very tempting. "I don't know," Elizabeth hedged. "My parents still don't know." She snapped her mouth shut when Brenda hurriedly shoved a cell phone into her hands. "And I haven't packed anything."

"Neither have I," Brenda exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "So you go home, throw together a duffel bag – and you'd better bring some club wear, Web, or so help me God, I will maim you – and grab some fruit and a granola bar and I'll pick you up in two hours. We'll have dinner with the boys when we're settled in our room."

"That's another thing," Elizabeth started in. "Where are we staying? Brenda, we can't just throw this together at last minute. There are so many details to consider – how long it takes to get there, how much money we'll need, what to bring, weather, gas, possible delays, food, where we're going to stay, with whom and for how long-"

Brenda rolled her eyes. Typical Elizabeth. "It will take about three hours to drive down, maybe four with really bad traffic; bring enough dough for fast food and cab rides and shopping; bring your jeans, sweatshirt, sneakers, heels, sunscreen, mittens, hat, coat, and some really spicy clubwear; weather's good, like you already said; my dad gave me a ton of gas money, so no sweat; fast food and maybe two nice restaurants; and last but not least, my big brother has an apartment in the city that we're welcome to stay in, because he's on a business trip. Does that answer all your questions?"

Elizabeth's mouth hung open and Brenda smirked at her. "See, Beth?" she ribbed. "You _can _plan these things at last minute." She hopped up from her seat on the pavement and held out a hand for Elizabeth. "So, you going or what?"

Elizabeth glared warily at her as the two resumed their fast walk to the parking lot. "You make a convincing case, Barrett, but I'm still not sure…"

Brenda couldn't help but smile wickedly. It was time to dish out the heavy artillery. "Did I happen to mention that Jason runs all his races shirtless?"


	5. What Happens in New York Stays in New Yo...

**What happens in New York Stays in New York**

Mr. Alcazar stood at the chalkboard, squinting at the problem he'd completed last night. Damn Calculus. It made so much more sense last night. That is, with the help of a little scotch – not that he recommended that as a study habit.

He copied the original problem – the integral of x3 over (x2) + 1 – onto the board. There. Now the job was to try to figure out how to explain the rest of the problem when _he _could barely read his own writing.

"Okay, hold on, kids," he called over his shoulder. "Let me just get this on the board so I can walk you through it."

"No hurry, Czar," Luke replied, not even looking at the board. The young man was too busy trying to get just the right angle with the rubber band he was planning to zap Marcus with. "Take your time."

"Hey, Morgan," Marcus Taggert whispered from three seats away. "Are you up for lunch today? It's Wendy's Wednesday."

Jason nodded without glancing at his friend. His elbow was on his desk and he had braced his cheek in his hand. Currently, he wasn't concerned with lunch or his friends or the integration of natural laws.

There was only one thing on his mind, and she was too busy racing Mr. Alcazar to the answer of the problem to notice.

Elizabeth sat hunched forward in her desk, periodically blowing her bangs out of her face as her pencil flew over her notebook. Every now and then she'd punch a few keys on her graphing calculator, squint at it for a moment, and then resume her own calculations. The girl really was quite a nerd.

A smile tugged at his lips. That was one of the things he liked most about her.

But besides being a nerd, she had a lot else going for her. She had her funny, snarky side, and he'd gotten to see it when they had gone to the city the past weekend.

That had been the most amazing trip he'd ever taken.

Sonny shifted in his desk just then, effectively blocking Jason's view. He didn't do it intentionally, but it was hard for the boy to sit in one spot for so long without his bottom hurting.

He seemed to be in a strange mood today, too. Normally, he would have joined in on the rubber band battle between Luke and Marcus, or he would have joined Charlie and Ryan in trying to complete those box puzzles Mr. Alcazar kept "hidden" on the top shelf of his cabinet.

But today, the cuban just stared at the blank page in his notebook, pencil in hand, making no move to fill it. Jason wondered if he were thinking about Brenda. Those two also had a wonderful time in New York – although it was quite different from his and Elizabeth's.

Mr. Preuss had surprised them all by actually insisting that they remain chaperoned, so the entire group stayed together most of the time. They went out to dinner together – and completely took over the fancy restaurant, much to the chagrine of the other patrons. They went sight-seeing together – the cab driver wasn't too thrilled when eight kids crammed into the backseat of his cab. They even went out and enjoyed the night life together. Maybe that was what Sonny was mulling over, Jason mused.

Brenda had always been a social butterfly, this much he always knew. She had lots of friends and enjoyed hanging out with different people. Because the entire group remained together the whole time, she didn't get to spend much time alone with Sonny as she had planned. Instead, she also got to know the other boys on the team – not that she minded, of course. She was introduced to crazy Kyle and his little brother, both of whom had her crying with laughter that night. She spent some time with both Charlie and Ryan from their math class, and enjoyed their company tremendously. She even danced with several of the other boys and had a blast, especially when the DJ played some Dean Martin tunes at her request.

And Sonny had been left following on her heels, warding off the New York boys while shooting daggers at his team mates.

He had been jealous.

Jealous that Brenda was paying so much attention to everyone else, and in his opinion, not enough to him.

Jason wasn't sure if they'd patched things up yet, but they had been engrossed in conversation for more than an hour on Sunday.

Maybe that wasn't what Sonny was thinking about at all. Maybe he just had a lot of Student Union work to do. Or maybe he was reliving the races on Saturday, where he had placed first in the 1600 m. relay, Jason had placed first in the 3200, and the team placed second in state. Several other team members had won medals as well, and it had been a glorious day.

Elizabeth slammed a fist against her desk at that moment, and Jason was jarred from all thoughts of his best friend. Apparently, natural logs didn't come as naturally to the brunette as she would have liked.

He smiled at his lame pun, glad that Sonny chose to lean back so he could go back to his reverent vigilance.

Elizabeth was erasing now. Hard. And she was pouting.

He loved it when she pouted. Her lips were made for it.

Her lips were also made for kissing, he had decided long ago. He would have liked to explore that hypothesis in the Big Apple, but unfortunately for him, the opportunity had not presented itself. Besides, he really didn't want to rush things with her. From what he had heard, Elizabeth had never had a boyfriend before.

If she had been any other girl, he would have wondered what was wrong with her.

But she wasn't – she was Elizabeth. She was perfect.

And he'd be damned if he messed this up by going too fast and scaring her away.

Mr. Alcazar remained at the head of the room, his chalk scraping away at the board. He, too, had to pause and erase several times.

Elizabeth leaned back in her chair, and Sonny chose that moment – by some grace of the cosmos – to put his chin down on his own desk, leaving Jason's view of his favorite little bookworm unobstructed.

Elizabeth's eyes darted over to Sonny as he began to tap his pencil on his desk and hum. She strained to listen as he hummed several bars before she realized the tune. Luke and Marcus, too, had taken a brief recess from their rubber band war to listen. Sonny's humming became soft muttered words, and Elizabeth found herself joining in with Luke and Marcus. Charlie and Ryan looked up from their calculator games and joined in as well, slow smiles gracing their faces.

The song was a favorite of everyone's, and had become a Calculus tradition. Whenever things were slow or tough, the kids had formed the habit of breaking into song. Mr. Alcazar hated it, but there wasn't much he could do. Besides, everyone always returned to the problem with renewed energy, so he supposed a few karaoke sessions weren't the end of the world.

Sonny looked around at his classmates, all of them bopping away to the beat, all of them at different places in the song. He smirked and stopped, waiting for everyone else. Then he started anew, the entire room joining in.

"_Is this the real life? Is this just a fantasy?"_ he sang, his black eyes twinkling. _"Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality-"_

"_Look up to the skies and see,"_ Jason continued, nodding his head to the beat that Marcus and Luke were stamping on the floor_. "I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy because I'm easy come, easy go, a little high, a little low,"_

"_Anyway the wind blows doesn't really matter to me,"_ Elizabeth joined in, tapping her fingers on the desk.

"_To me,"_ Charlie and Ryan added, moving their books aside and pounding on their desks to match the rhythm.

Mr. Alcazar stopped at the board and slowly turned around, hoping a stern look would put an end to the singing. No such luck – the little hooligans were too far gone to even notice that he was staring them down.

Jason smiled when the song reached the good part. He joined in on the pounding and his desk shook with the blows. _"I see a little silhouette of a man, scaramouch, scaramouch, will you do the fandango? Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening me! Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo Figaro – Magnifico!_"

From behind Sonny, Elizabeth grinned at him and he found himself smiling warmly back. Nothing like a little Bohemian Rhapsody to lift everyone's spirits.

Next came Elizabeth's favorite part – the part she always waited for. She quickly pulled the rubber band that held her hair in a ponytail out, and the chestnut tresses cascaded over her shoulders as the beat picked up and the noise in the room increased.

"Kids, I don't think-" Mr. Alcazar tried to restore order, but his voice was barely heard over the din. He'd be lucky if one of the deans didn't show up soon.

This was it, and Elizabeth grinned as she kept up with the lyrics.

"_Easy come, easy go, will you let me go?"_ Sonny yelled, stamping his sneakers on the tiles.

"_Bismillah!"_ the entire class burst out, pounding in unison. _"No, we will not let you go – let him go! Bismillah! We will not let you go – let him go! Bismillah – we will not let you go – let me go! Will not let you go – let me go – never! Never let you go – let me go! Never let me go – ooo!"_

Mr. Alcazar's mouth dropped open as the entire class, girls included, began to headbang. _"No, no, no, no, no, no, no – Oh, mama mia, mama mia, mama mia, let me go!"_

"What is wrong with you children!" Sonny winked at Mr. Alcazar, who stood staring wide-eyed at them after his outburst.

"_Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me!"_ Jason crowed, grinning at his nonplused teacher.

Mr. Alcazar grabbed his paperweight and smacked it against his desk until the singing eventually died down. "That's enough, guys," he said sternly.

"_Nothing really matters,"_ Sonny mumbled under his breath, ducking his head when his teacher glared at him.

"Now, you little demons are going to pay attention while I explain this," Mr. Alcazar instructed. "And _then_ you can get back to your singing."

"Wow, that was great," Marcus chuckled, leaning back in his desk and plucking a pencil out of his afro.

"And made absolutely no sense," Charlie joked from across the room.

"It's just like Calculus," Luke asserted, clearly pleased with himself.

"We have to do that more often," Elizabeth nodded, trying to sweep her tangled hair out of her face. Perhaps head-banging hadn't been such a bright idea – it always left her feeling dizzy.

"After the AP, hooligans," Mr. Alcazar muttered before launching into a long-winded explanation that Jason was in no mood to pay attention to – something about doing long division first and then integrating with natural logs and then repeating the whole damn process all over again.

Instead, his thoughts drifted back to the weekend in New York.

It was gray. And barren. And windy. And freakin' cold.

_Jason stood on the track, surrounded by his teammates. The race was about to begin – they only had about eight minutes left. The coaches had been instructed to leave the track, and it was up to him and Sonny to give they boys the pep talk that would carry them through the entire race. _

"_We've worked long and hard to get here," Sonny began, looking each boy solidly in the eye. "We're the first from PC High to get here. W e have a lot of people depending on us – we have to do our best not only for ourselves, but for all of them."_

_Jason pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing that Sonny was only making them more nervous. Normally, he'd stand back and only interject with a few words while Sonny motivated the team. But this time, he knew that he'd better step in and mediate before the newer members like sophomore Max Gambini fainted. _

"_Look, he's right," Jason interrupted. "We have worked long and hard to get here. Remember that while you're running. But also remember that this isn't just a fluke – we didn't get here by some random stroke of luck." Elizabeth's words came back to him as Sonny stared at him curiously, wondering what propelled his silent partner to give a speech. "We got here because we're good enough to be here. Don't go out there thinking about all the other great schools that are here. Go out there thinking that **we**__are here. We deserve to be here. We wouldn't be if we weren't good, so if you have those doubts, it's best to push them out of your heads right now. There's no room in a racer's mind for doubts. You guys are all good and you've trained hard. Sonny and I are honored and proud to call you our team mates. But we don't need to stand here and wax poetic about it. The time has come for us to get out there and show New York how to run – Raider style. Good luck. Remember – Chariots of Fire."_

_Sonny smiled. The movie was a special past time among the runners. He patted Jason on the back and turned to the runners. "Good luck," he repeated. "Time to do what we love to do." Fifteen hands met in the middle of the huddle. "Let's go, Raiders!" the boys yelled before separating. _

_They tipped their heads at each other before walking off in groups. It was time for the relays and the next event featured Sonny, Jason, Johnny, and Kyle. _

_The four boys passed the bleachers, and Jason heard his name being called anxiously over the clapping. _

"_Jason! Jason!"_

_  
He turned and instantly saw his little brother clinging to the wire mesh fence, waving something in his fist. "Jason! Jason! I found it! I found the hackey sack! It was by Gramma's rose bush! I found it! Here!" He made a motion to throw it to his older brother, but Jason just waved a hand at him._

"_Keep it for now," he grinned, raising a hand to his neck to finger the hemp necklace he wore. "I've got all the luck I need."_

_AJ watched him walk away, confused, as Sonny and Kyle snickered. _

"_Jason's got it bad," Kyle teased, giving his friend a shove on the shoulder. _

"_Bite me," was all he got in reply as Jason strode on, unaffected by their teasing. Kyle quirked a questioning brow at Sonny, who shrugged his shoulders as he zipped up the wind breaker all the runners wore. _

_The cold New York wind cut through their skin and whistled through the shorts they all wore, but they didn't complain. All the boys hated running in wind breaker pants, and were happy to deal with the frigid temperatures if they also had the freedom the shorts allowed._

_We must have been quite a sight, Sonny mused. Four boys, all tall with broad shoulders and slim, narrow waists. He, Kyle, and Johnny were about the same height, and Jason was about two inches taller. And the way they were walking now – three boys in a row led by an even taller boy in shorts and a wind breaker with long hair that the wind was currently blowing in his face. Quite a sight. _

_The boys stood near the starting blocks, tipping their heads politely at the other runners, most of who responded in kind. _

_Johnny stooped to tie his sneakers. "You know," he began, "I kinda miss those hackey sack games."_

_Sonny laughed. "Didn't you hear? Jason got something better than that old thing."_

_Johnny's brows furrowed. "What?"_

"_This," Jason volunteered, holding out his necklace with two fingers. His eyes twinkled as Johnny looked at it._

"_What's so special about it?" he wanted to know._

"_The person who gave it to him," Kyle grinned. _

"_Who?"_

"_Beth Webber," Sonny replied, smirking at Jason._

"_Beth Webber…"Johnny tried to place the name. "I don't know her. Does she go to our school?"_

_Sonny nodded. "Oh, yeah, of course."_

"_Is she a senior?"_

_It was Kyle's turn to nod. "Yeah. And from what Jason tells us, we have reason to believe she's in those bleachers over there."_

_Johnny strained to look even as Jason shook his head. "No, not over there," he said. "I already looked."_

_Sonny smiled. "Maybe she and Brenda are sitting over there."_

_All four boys squinted, searching the sea of faces sitting high against the gray skies. _

"_There she is!" Kyle burst out, pointing into the crowd._

"_Where? Where?" Jason scanned in the direction of Kyle's finger, still not seeing her._

"_Calm down, Lassie," Kyle scoffed. "Look over there. Fourth row. There's a woman wearing a hot pink hat – see her? Brenda's next to her, and Johnny-" he glanced at the sophomore, who nodded. "The brunette sitting next to her in the blue puffy jacket is Elizabeth."_

"_Oh," Johnny nodded. "I know her. I've seen her in the halls before." He glanced at Jason, smirking. "She's pretty hot."_

"_Tread carefully, Obie," Jason warned. "You're on dangerous ground."_

"_He knows it," Sonny snickered, dropping a hand on Johnny's shoulder. _

"_Eat it, Corinthos," Jason tossed back. "And just be glad I'm not going to start making fun of you and Bren in front of these two."_

_Sonny crinkled his nose and rolled his eyes at Jason before sauntering off to a group of kids he recognized from a nearby school. Johnny and Kyle followed his lead and Jason was left still staring at the bleachers, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket. _

_He stared at Elizabeth's face, watching her carefully as she laughed at Brenda's jokes and cracked a few of her own. The two giggled in the bleachers, and Jason watched as she muffled her laughter with a knitted blue mitten. _

_He waited patiently, hoping to catch her eye before the races began. _

_Now the two girls had befriended the woman in the hot pink hat, and all three were chattering away. The woman pointed to a group at the opposite end of the track, perhaps her son, and Brenda and Elizabeth strained to see where she was pointing. _

_Come on, damn it, Jason glowered at them. Look at me. _

"_Runners, to the blocks." The announcer's voice boomed over the speakers. _

_Swearing, Jason turned for where Sonny and the boys were standing. They stood with him at the block, he being the first one to run in the relay. _

"_Good luck, Jason," Sonny smiled. "Knock 'em dead, Golden Boy."_

_Jason watched them walk off toward the side, hurrying toward their posts for the relay races. An official came by and handed all the first runners the baton that they would be passing to the second. _

"_Three minutes until starting time," the announcer informed the audience and the runners. _

_Jason watched as the other runners tied their shoes and pulled down the cuffs of their pants. This was it – it was time to run._

"Jason," Mr. Alcazar's voice interrupted his memories. "How many times does x go into x2?"

It was a mickey mouse problem – they'd been doing long division since elementary – so Jason had no problem coming up with an answer on the spot. "X times."

"Right," the teacher nodded, getting back to his explanation. "So you multiply that, and don't forget to change signs…"

"Nice save," Elizabeth whispered to Jason, knowing he had been zoning out for the past five minutes. When he grinned wickedly back at her, she forced herself to look away before a blush stole across the cheeks. Honestly, the boy just had _no_ idea that was completely gorgeous. Downright drool worthy.

And she certainly had to struggle not to drool over him at the races in New York.

"That's my son," Abby Konshin beamed, pointing toward a redhead by the scoreboard. "His name is Danny and he goes to River Forest High."

"_I've heard of that school," Brenda nodded. "Dance team went there last year for a competition."_

_Elizabeth looked back toward the track as Abby and Brenda gabbed. She wasn't interested in Danny – she was looking for Jason._

"_Come on, Golden Boy," she muttered. "Where are you?"_

_Movement on the track caught her eye. Sonny, Kyle, and some kid she didn't know were skirting the edge to go to their positions. At the starting block stood none other than Jason Morgan. The wind was lovingly caressing his hair and ripping across the material of his jacket. He stood still, his face set and focused. The other runners chattered anxiously and stretched quickly, hopping around to release their pent-up energy. _

_Not Jason. He just stood stock still, closing his eyes and smelling the wind. He looked so serene and at ease, and she realized that she had been holding in a breath as she watched. _

"_One minute to starting time!" The announcer was excited now. _

_The runners took their time setting themselves up at the block. One minute was a long time when you were waiting to run. _

_Jason opened his eyes. From the angle at which he was standing, she could see his face clearly. A muscle in his jaw ticked. She watched, spellbound, as he raked a gaze over the other boys, as if sizing up and weighing the competition. She hoped he remembered what she told him about not being nervous. _

_The clock ticked away the seconds and Jason launched into movement. His face remained set, his brows slightly furrowed with concentration and determination. She loved how he looked when he was focusing on something – running, especially. _

_His fingers found the zipper of his jacket and tugged it all the way down. He shrugged his broad shoulders out of it and flung it off the track. _

_An official standing near by said something to him, and Elizabeth assumed he was advising Jason to put it back on – New York winters were no laughing matter. Jason tipped his head at the man, letting him know that he knew exactly what he was doing. _

_The wind kicked the jacket, making the lining billow. The official scooped it up and folded it over the mesh, glancing at Jason. _

_  
The shirt came off next. It was a nice shirt – black. Half-sleeved. Plus, Elizabeth liked how it stretched over Jason's chest, pulling taut against the hard plane of his pectorals. And it bunched up just so over his shorts, and made for a very appealing view. Written across the front was the standard team name and school, along with the school logo. Emblazoned on the back was the US Marine symbol, a new logo that the team had decided to adopt. It was a tough shirt, Elizabeth decided. Not that Jason wasn't already tough enough. _

_He pulled it off his head, running a hand through his hair to tame it. Elizabeth's eyes widened. _

_Holy…._

_Her mind seemed to just stop in its track, and even the teasing jab of Brenda's elbow into her side didn't do much. _

_Jason Morgan was a freakin' god. _

_His naturally tan skin stood out against the sky, mocking its hazy shade of winter. Each muscle seemed so perfectly emphasized – like Michaelangelo had picked up a pick and sledgehammer and set out to outdo himself and put David to shame. _

_Her eyes trailed hungrily down his washboard abs to the waistband of his blue shorts. Surprisingly enough, the only words that came to her mind were the ones she wasn't allowed to say. _

"_Hey – who's that runner?" A girl's giggly voice from below interrupted Elizabeth's eyegasm, as Brenda called it. Looking down, she saw two blonde girls in orange and blue school colors pointing at Jason. "Number 24. Look at him – he's gorgeous!"_

_Elizabeth's lips twisted sourly. Greaaaat. A couple of floozies had their eyes on Jason now. _

_The thought stopped her – was she jealous?_

_No. Couldn't be. _

_Elizabeth shook her head at her own foolishness. Certainly, there was nothing to be jealous about. _

_Jason knows me__she told herself. Not those two. I have nothing to worry about. _

_Jason was arching his body into position at the block as he waited for the announcer to call out twenty seconds. The muscles of his calves bulged attractively as he strained his foot against the wooden stand. Fingers already planted on the springy material of the track, Jason Morgan was ready._

_He looked up at the bleachers then, and his eyes miraculously met hers. Her breath hitched in her throat when his gaze caught and held. _

_He smiled – slowly, wickedly – and braced his body on one hand, using the other to finger his necklace. _

_Elizabeth grinned. She knew she was probably as red as a tomato, but she didn't care. Next to her, Brenda squealed and clapped her hands._

"_That necklace is good luck, Beth," she exclaimed. _

"_Indeed."_

"Elizabeth!" Mr. Alcazar's voice shattered her images of a bare-chested Jason. "How do you integrate seven over x2 +2x+2?"

"Uh," she stammered, squinting at the board. She wasn't as fast on her feet as Jason, and his naked upper body hadn't helped matters any. Still, her mind raced as she rewrote the problem in her head. "Er, seven times the arctan of x+1?"

"Exactly," her teacher grinned. "Now we're getting someplace, people!" He turned back to the board, his chalk scraping away excitedly.

"Smooth, Webber," Sonny mumbled, winking at her. Next to him, Jason watched Elizabeth nod and look away. Was she blushing? Perhaps. He had remembered thinking she was blushing at the races – which made him wonder what he had done to cause that – but then realized it was from the cold.

"Third goes to Adlai E. Stevenson High," the announcer boomed. The coach whooped and clapped his boys on the back, all of them cheering and pumping their fists in the air.

"_Second place is Port Charles High, led by Coach Andy Preuss." Mr. Preuss let out a yell and the boys stood up, clapping. Brenda and Elizabeth whooped from their place in the audience, clapping loudly. The boys grabbed their medals and donned them, beaming proudly for the crowd. History had just been made for the sleepy little town of Port Charles. _

_The first place winners were announced and the state conference was over. Each school retreated to their own area on the track to meet with their spectators in the audience. _

_Brenda and Elizabeth pushed through the throng of people and ran straight for the Running Raiders "Congratulations!"_

_Brenda reached up and pecked Sonny's cheek. "You were great! Good job – I can't believe it!"_

_He laughed and captured her dainty hand in his. He was about to say something, but she turned and saw Kyle standing behind him. "Kyle – good job in the shot put. You were amazing!" Kyle grinned and thanked her and the two began to chat. The other boys joined up and the conversation continued around a very animated Brenda and a slightly put-off Sonny who was still holding her hand. _

"_Jason!" Elizabeth exclaimed, squeezing past the crowds. Her grin was radiant and he found himself drawn into her dazzling eyes. "Jason, you were unbelievable!"_

_She was a few steps away, but he covered the distance between them and pulled her into his arms before she knew what was happening. Sure, he'd cheated her out of a hug, but he figured that sometimes it was okay to be selfish. _

_She tensed for a minute and then relaxed, looping her arms around his neck. "You must be freezing," she clucked. _

"_I'm all right," he assured her, pulling back but keeping one hand at the small of her back. "Really."_

_She nodded, eyeing him skeptically. _

"_No, I'm serious," he insisted. "I just don't get cold."_

"_Still…" she trailed off, raking a gaze over him. She was still half in his arms, one hand at his neck. She boldly ran the other one down his bare chest. When he shivered, she naturally assumed it was from the bitter wind. "There – you see? Let's go find your jacket."_

_She pulled back and grabbed his hand, and he allowed her to pull him through the crowd as she searched for his wind breaker and t-shirt. The wind howled around him, ruffling through his hair, but his body remained warm. _

"Wait, Czar-"

Jason looked up in annoyance when Sonny's voice cut through his daydream.

"I still don't get it," the boy continued earnestly. "Why is it arctan and not arccos?"

"Look at it this way, Clyde," Alcazar instructed, pointing at the board with one dry chalky finger. "X2 + 2x + 2. How can you rewrite that?"

Sonny squinted, biting his lip.

"Complete the square," Alcazar hinted.

"Oh," Sonny exclaimed. "Wait – that's x +1 quantity squared plus one, right?"

"Yes," Alcazar beamed. "Now, what is arctan?"

"Sum of squares on the bottom," Sonny replied immediately. "I get it."

"I'm so hungry," Marcus murmured from across the room.

Elizabeth's stomach rumbled. She was ready to hit the cafeteria, too. _I wish they served manicotti,_ she sighed. _Like the one at Regeneau's in New York._

Mr. Alcazar, done with the first problem, moved on to the next as Elizabeth slipped back in to her memories.

"I'm famished!" Brenda exclaimed, clutching her stomach as Sonny smirked. "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

_Kyle opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. "Nah," he muttered. "Too easy."_

_Brenda shot him a dirty look before grabbing Sonny's hand. "Look, here comes the waiter."_

"_We're ready to seat you now," the waiter began. "Follow me, please."_

_The group trailed behind him – fifteen boys, two girls, and two adults. The restaurant was Regeneau's, a relatively swanky Italian eatery in the heart of New York. Mr. Preuss had informed them that the school was paying for dinner, so all qualms about parting with money that come naturally to teenagers disappeared. _

_Dinner was a calm, quiet event as the famished runners tore into their pasta. But once satisfied, the fun began, much to the chagrin of the restaurant staff and patrons. The table erupted in conversation and good-natured ribbing as the boys talked about the race and cracked jokes about their team mates. Brenda and Elizabeth could barely contain themselves as Jason and Sonny argued over who was 'hunkier' and Johnny and Kyle did impressions of what a drunk Elizabeth would act like._

_Other customers – all businessmen or lawyers or some sort of professionals – shot them disapproving glares, but no one noticed. Coach Preuss and his wife Patty were sitting in a nearby table for two, pretending they had nothing to do with the rambunctious teens taking control of one of the most expensive restaurants in town. _

_Dessert soon arrived and Elizabeth was faced with a dilemma. She really wouldn't be able to eat a whole dessert – and Brenda was already splitting a piece of cake with Johnny, who wasn't feeling too well anyway. _

_Jason watched her as she mulled over it, and she eventually heard him say, "You know, I'm not in the mood to eat a whole dessert – you wanna share?"_

_She nodded and smiled graciously when he told her to pick whatever she wanted. She refused, and eventually they agreed together on a bowl of crème brulee. _

_When it arrived they both reached for their spoons, and Jason unconsciously scooted closer to Elizabeth. When he realized this, he took advantage of the opportunity to get even closer until the petite brunette was practically in his lap. _

_Elizabeth had always liked crème brulee, especially when aspiring cook Sydney made her some, but there was something about sitting mere inches from Jason Morgan, feeling the heat radiate off of his body and through her dark red sweater, and enjoying an intimate conversation with him while the rest of the table when nuts that made the dessert even more heavenly._

"Now, some of you had questions about the area between curves. I can go over that right now if you like." Mr. Alcazar looked out at his students, waiting for feedback.

"Please do," Marcus spoke up. "I keep forgetting how to do that stuff."

"OK." Returning to the board, Mr. Alcazar drew three curves on the x-y plane. "Look at this." He took the blue chalk and shaded in part of the graph. "This is the area we want. If you look at it from this angle, it looks like one fourth of the club symbol in a deck of cards."

Jason made no move to copy down the parametric graph, his thoughts turning instead to a different sort of club.

"I hate this song!" Brenda yelled through the music, covering her ears.

"_What?" Sonny yelled back, bending closer to hear her. "You're wearing a thong?"_

"_No – well, yeah, but no!"_

"_She said she hates this song," Jason clarified, speaking into Sonny's ear. _

_His best friend turned on him, smirking. "Oh," he nodded. "That's fine, because if you had said that you__were wearing a thong, I would have been a little concerned."_

_Jason rolled his eyes as Elizabeth snickered. "As would I," she responded, winking at Jason. _

_The music blared on, some strange sort of European techno. Brenda and Sonny ducked off of the dance floor, choosing a table in the corner to sit and talk. _

_Mr. Preuss and his wife, after making sure everyone was safe and almost asleep back at the hotel room, had retired to their own on a different floor. That was when the fun began. _

In less than twenty minutes, all the boys were dressed and ready to go. Certain that the hotel receptionists would report a bunch of high schoolers strolling out at eleven o'clock. Instead, they climbed down via the fire escape from the small balcony. Sonny had already called Elizabeth and Brenda at her brother's apartment, and although Jason wasn't sure what trouble they were going to get into tonight, he was very happy that he remembered to bring the fake ID his cousin Ned had made for him.

_That night had been amazing. Jason could hardly believe his luck – it passed without any embarrassing moment or awkward instance or any problem whatsoever. Being runners, all of the boys were too conscientious about their bodies and their health to get smashed. Basically, the entire purpose of the excursion was to be able to say that they had set foot in a New York club. _

_And they did more than just set foot – they danced and danced and danced until Brenda almost rolled her ankle. Elizabeth was uneasy at first, but as the evening wore on she came in to her own as she got to really connect with the rest of the runners. Instead of being complete strangers, Jason could she that she had begun to think of them as friends. She chatted with Johnny about several teachers and gave him some hints on how to make it through his junior year alive. Kyle's little brother got some advice on women, and Kyle himself managed to keep Elizabeth entertained all night long with anecdotes about all the crazy things the track boys did when they were together – including one streaking incident that had Elizabeth doubled over and Jason wishing he was never born. _

_Sonny and Elizabeth tore up the dance floor when he taught her how to really__do the salsa beyond the rocking foot movements, and Jason had never wanted to be his best friend as badly as he did when Sonny twirled Elizabeth repeatedly and grinned down at her when she sank into his arms for the finale. _

_Still, he had the amazing privilege of sharing a sultry slow dance with the petite brunette, who actually allowed herself to snuggle into his chest as he held her close. Her hair smelled like berries and her breath smelled of mint, and Jason Morgan was in high heaven as her small body swayed with his. _

_And as the music died down and gave way to the solitary trumpet and the piano, as the lights dimmed down low and a gentle mist filled the air, as Elizabeth sighed with contentment and turned her face into his neck, Jason could have sworn that heaven was nothing compared to what he was experiencing at the moment. _

_It had been an unforgettable night._

_Right down to running through the streets of New York back to their hotel because they were too cheap to call a cab as it rained. And how was he supposed to know that the red bandana he usually used as a handkerchief would bleed all over the dress shirt he borrowed from Sonny?_

_So from a piping hot Italian dinner that burned the roof of his mouth to the slow dance with Elizabeth that burned the rest of him, and finally to narrowly escaping Sonny's sucker-punch, the excursion to New York had been one that he would remember with pleasure to his dying day. _

"Sorry, Czar," Luke Spencer drawled as he stretched languidly in his desk. "It's about that time."

Mr. Alcazar glared witheringly at him. "I've got a watch, Spencer, and I say that it is _not _that time."

"Can't argue with Father Time," Marcus reasoned, discreetly slipping his notebook into his backpack as he readied himself for his daily dash. When the teacher turned away, he glanced at Jason. "You comin' to lunch, man?"

Jason's eyes darted to Elizabeth as she finished copying down the problem on the board. "Um, you know, I think I'll have to take a rain check on that," he replied without looking back at his friend.

Marcus shrugged. "Sure – whatever." Glancing at the clock, he picked up his backpack and put it on, one eye on the door and the other on Mr. Alcazar.

Unfortunately for him, Mr. Alcazar saw what he was up to. He turned for the door the same instant that Marcus decided to break into a dash in order to escape.

"Oh, no, you don't, Taggert!" he sputtered, trying to physically bar the door with his body. Marcus, however, was faster on his feet. After a little fancy footwork, a fake right, a fake left, and another fake right, the basketball player was out the door as Luke clapped his hands.

"Sorry, Czar," he winked. "You didn't stand a chance."

Mr. Alcazar sputtered angrily. "One of these days, he _won't _get past me."

"Don't hold your breath, Sir," Sonny smiled as he packed up his own stuff.

The bell rang and the students immediately left. Mr. Alcazar returned to the board and began to erase it, paying no mind to the kids left in the room.

Sonny had already split, and as Elizabeth gathered her books she felt someone approach her desk. Looking up, she met Jason's deep blue eyes.

"Jason," she smiled, standing up and balancing her book on her hip. "Aren't you going out to lunch? I thought today was Wendy's Wednesday."

He shrugged, looking down at his feet as he shuffled them. "Actually, I was wondering if you'd like to go out to lunch."

She considered it, watching him carefully. He was looking at her with hopeful eyes, and she knew she wouldn't be able to disappoint him. "Sure. Let's go."

His smile was immediate and he walked her to the door, not noticing the way Mr. Alcazar watched them with open fascination and a smirk. The door closed behind them and Alcazar shook his head, straightening his papers into a neat pile.

"Looks like I've got a new Bonnie and Clyde."


	6. She Sells Seashells

**She Sells Seashells**

The minute bell rang and the underclassmen fairly flew through the halls, plowing through anything and everything in their way.

And the seniors – despite their bravado about not caring anymore about anything related to school – were no different as they raced down the corridors as they returned from lunch off campus, the girls _splat_-_splat_-ing by with their flip-flops, the boys holding their books in one hand and their pants up with the other. Even with only two months of school left, the _jailbirds_, as they were referred to by faculty, still cared about not racking up tardies.

Sonny sauntered easily over to the library for study hall. He had been unable to leave today for lunch and had grabbed some pasta in the cafeteria before running up to the computer lab to type memos for the next Student Union meeting. The meeting was the first Monday as they got back from Spring Break, meaning the memos had to be out by today at the latest.

He opened the library door and was about to enter when he heard familiar voices behind him. Turning around, he saw Elizabeth and Jason both running down the halls at top-speed and getting ready to take off in opposite directions. A smile tugged at his lips as he watched Jason glance at Elizabeth before they parted ways.

"I'll see you after school, Little One," he called out, switching his thick Physics text from one hand to the other.

"All right," she answered, looking over her shoulder at him and almost letting her lemonade from Noodles&Company slip out of her fingers. "I think that we should seriously try calling ahead for our orders next time-"

"Talk to me later," Jason yelled from a bit down the hallway, earning a glare from the spectacled Hallway Monitor. He winced slightly as he ran and decided to slow down to a trot. "You're going to be late!"

She nodded and waved before running off. While his teacher didn't get to class himself until ten minutes after it started, he knew that hers was a stickler for punctuality.

Sonny smiled at the scene, shaking his head as he entered the quiet sanctuary of the PC High library. Those two were...insane, he concluded.

From not even knowing each other for the last few years to snuggling up together on a dark and crowded dance floor in New York, he couldn't help but wonder if Jason's little infatuation with his own other almost-best-friend was going to turn into something serious. The two had been spending a lot of time together, usually in a large group of people. He knew Jason well enough to see that the young man wanted some time alone with the object of his affections, but he could also see how concerned he was about not scaring Elizabeth away.

And Sonny respected that - more so than he would ever tell Jason. He had several choice words to describe his old-time friend, but _gentleman_ had only recently been added to that list.

And it pleased him. It was no secret that Jason was heavily in demand with the young ladies. The nice ones were too insecure to make any overtures and preferred to admire him from afar, convinced he would never even notice them. The skankier ones were less discreet with their overtures, a trait that Jason heartily disliked. That left him in an awkward position as far as his love life was concerned - the loose girls wouldn't leave him alone and he had to make a conscious effort to escape their heavy eye shadow and short skirts, and if he wanted a nice girl, he was the one that would have to actively chase after her.

And chasing was not Jason Morgan's strong suit.

That was why he generally limited himself to girls outside of PC High - girls that didn't know he was an honor student in the top five percent of his class with impressive extracurriculars along with being an accomplished and celebrated runner. All they saw was a totally approachable, drop-dead gorgeous boy that knew how to handle himself with the girls.

These were the girls that were Jason's bread and butter - he had his pick among them and he loved it.

But he was completely different with Elizabeth, which took a tremendous load off of Sonny's shoulders. Because as much as he loved his best friend, he knew that he was a guy. And Elizabeth was too sweet and too special to be hurt by any man, and Sonny knew that if push came to shove, he'd rather give Jason a shiner than see Elizabeth in tears because of him.

But his fears had been allayed by Jason's lamb-like demeanor with the _Little One_. Sonny had seen how he behaved around her in the hallways - he toned down the offensive jokes, reduced all rough horseplay, rarely teased her like he mercilessly did the other girls, and never did anything crazy like jumping on her back and insisting she carry him down the stairs.

Instead, he was charming, considerate, and not the least overbearing - he carried her books sometimes, always asked where she'd prefer to go to lunch, and glared at anyone that so much as looked at her cross-eyed. He listened intently to her slightly neurotic rambling and never seemed to mind when she had to run off in a million directions to take care of her responsibilities rather than hang out with their friends.

Sonny couldn't have hoped for anything better.

But on the same token, it had him slightly impatient and frustrated.

Jason and Elizabeth had been thrust into each others' sphere - thanks to Johnny and his after school shenanigans that had resulted in a nasty blood blister on Elizabeth's pinkie - back in February, before the dreaded Valentine's Day Balloon Sale. It was now late March, and yet the relationship hadn't moved anywhere. They weren't dating. They weren't hanging out as a couple. Heck, Jason hadn't even kissed her yet - something that was highly unusual for the Golden Boy.

It was high time they kicked it into a faster gear, but knowing Jason and his fears of scaring Elizabeth away, Sonny knew it wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Because Jason was just stupid that way.

If only there were some way to get those two to wake up...

He set his books down on the small table in the library, dumping his backpack on one of the four chairs, sitting in one and slouching down so he could rest his feet on the one directly in front of him. He really liked the layout in the library - a bunch of four-person square tables like the one he was occupying were scattered throughout the center, while shelves and rows of computers filled the rest of the space, leaving room for slightly larger tables along the side wall. The library had a solid formation and he found it very soothing and relaxing.

"Sonny!"

Slightly irritated by having his daily study hall nap interrupted, he looked up into the dazzling eyes of Brenda Barrett.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Not especially." He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes, and he made no move to remove his feet from the chair, letting Brenda stroll over to the one on his left.

"Do you have study hall right now?"

He nodded, not feeling particularly interested in talking and alleviating the awkwardness of her small talk.

She tossed her hair over her shoulders and propped her chin in her hand, quirking a perfectly plucked eyebrow at him. He hated it when she did that - it always made him feel like she was searching inside him, looking at all the things he kept hidden away. And he didn't like that feeling one bit.

He had to distract her.

"What class do you have now?"

She didn't blink, even at the surprisingly gruff tone of his voice. "Independent Study for Yearbook."

"Oh."

She didn't make any move to fill in the silence, still regarding him contemplatively.

Sonny's fingers tapped a nervous beat on the desk - she was still looking at him. "Uh - what do you do in that class?"

She gave him a one-shouldered shrug, her chin still propped up in her hand. "Not much." Her voice was bland. Indifferent. "I just sit around in the yearbook office and listen to music. Sometimes I take a late lunch - Ms. Ward never cares," she added, referring to Ms. Keisha Ward, the Yearbook advisor. "If she has some errands for me to run, I do those."

Sonny nodded, picking up his pencil and tapping out a different beat on the desk. He licked his lips, trying to think of something else to say. This felt all wrong - since when did he feel so awkward around Brenda?

When he looked up, she was still watching him quietly. He saw her eyes narrow and was suddenly unable to take it.

"What?" His voice was laced with exasperation and some of the frustration he had been feeling when it came to her ever since that weekend in New York.

She pursed her lips into a tight line before she spoke. "You've been in a really pissy mood, Corinthos," she said evenly, looking directly into his coal orbs. "And I can't figure out why."

The pencil ceased its tapping, as it was now trapped in Sonny's suddenly tight grip.

"Excuse me?" The words were tight and drawn.

"You heard me," Brenda insisted, scooting closer. Her bangs fell into her face, in front of her eyes, lending her a much more serious appearance. "You've been ignoring me ever since two weeks ago, and I want to know why."

Sonny chuckled humorlessly, cocking his head at her. "You really are a piece of work, Barrett," he tossed back. "You're telling me that you have absolutely no idea what you did?"

"What did I do, pray tell?" she exclaimed, lifting her hands in the air. A librarian hissed at them to be quiet, so the brunette lowered her hands and her voice as she scooted closer still. "What did I do?"

Sonny refused to look at her, suddenly feeling very awkward for starting this conversation. He should have just pretended it was nothing - now they were going to get into a long discussion about his _feelings_ and all that other mushy girl stuff. Just his luck.

Brenda was watching him. "Is this about New York?"

Sonny glanced at her. "No," he replied witheringly, so witheringly that she instantly knew he was lying.

"It _is_ about New York," she mused, lowering her head towards his. "What about New York?"

"Look, nothing - just forget it," Sonny waved it off. "It's stupid."

"It's _not_ stupid," she insisted. "Especially if it's big enough to get your panties in a twist."

He looked sharply at her, but she was too busy thinking of what could have gone wrong in New York. She turned her attention back to him, this time looking into his eyes in the same way that he hated, and he saw hers suddenly light up with realization.

"Did you think I was ignoring you? Spending too much time with your friends?"

It was a simple question, and yet Sonny couldn't find the words to answer it.

She took his silence as affirmation and mused on quietly. "Look, I didn't mean to give you that impression - really, I didn't. And I'm sorry it took me so long to realize that you felt this way. I'm kinda like that, I guess - I'm not exactly the most insightfully sensitive person you'll ever meet -"

"Look, it's nothing-"

Brenda wasn't buying it. "First, stop saying that. It _was_ something, because I didn't mean to make you feel slighted and I did. And I'm sorry about that." She looked earnestly at him and he was unable to doubt her sincerity.

"It's okay."

Her mouth twisted sourly to the side. "Don't give me that, Corinthos," she responded dryly.

This time Sonny couldn't help but smile as he looked away, his dimples peeking out at her. "Give you _what_?"

"_That_," she sneered. "That whole macho I-don't-have-any-feelings-for-you-to-hurt bit. God," she huffed, glaring at the wall. "I hate that."

That stopped him instantly, because if there was anything he didn't want, it was for Brenda to hate something about him. "Okay."

"Okay," she repeated back, looking at him again. "So you'll let me say that I apologize and that I honestly didn't know that you felt that way." He nodded. "But why didn't you say anything to me right then?"

He shrugged uncomfortably, looking at his fingers. "I don't know..."

She sighed before reaching out to pat his arm consolingly. "Part of the macho bit?"

He looked down at her hand on his biceps before smirking up at her. "Possibly."

She clucked her tongue pityingly even as a spark of humor at his expense shined in her dark eyes. "Don't worry, dear - you'll outgrow that eventually."

"Gee, thanks," he tossed back sarcastically, still grinning.

She nodded and returned his smirk before turning serious. "If I had known what you thought, I would have stopped," she stated honestly. "I just...I don't know. I knew how much you love your friends - the track boys, I mean. And it's just that I didn't know any of them, so I figured I should at least make an effort so that I could easily hang out with the same kids you do-"

He surprised her by covering her hand with hers. "I understand," he replied honestly. "I get where you're coming from. To be honest, it's the same reason I've stuck around when you're with Beth and Alexis and all them."

She quirked a smile at him, realizing that he had been doing exactly what she had. "OK," she nodded. "I get it." He smiled back at her, and she felt much better than she had in a while. But another thought occurred to her. "One more thing," she added seriously. Sonny nodded, all ears. "Just to avoid future misunderstandings, could you actually try to clue me in on what you're thinking and how you're feeling? Because, trust me, I won't have a clue."

He dipped his head and grinned, his dimples out in full force. "I will make it a point to do just that," he assured her. He was rewarded with one of her brilliant smiles.

"Excellent." She surprised him by half getting up from her chair and scooting it closer to his until their legs bumped. "Now, on to more pressing matters."

Though thoroughly confused, he found himself smirking at her completely serious tone. "Okay..."

"_What_, pray tell, are we going to do about Jason and Beth?"

The question elicited a loud laugh from Sonny, one he quickly toned down before the librarian could reprimand him.

"To tell you the truth, I was _just_ thinking about that before you got here," he admitted with a grin.

"Excellent," she repeated, scooting closer and snaking an arm through his. She picked at her nails like she always did when she thought, not noticing how Sonny smiled down at their linked arms and then up at her. "I'm glad that we're on the same wavelength - we save time because now I don't have to convince you that they're adorable together and make the cutest couple ever."

He liked the way the words just tumbled out of her mouth when she was excited. And even though he would never admit it to her, he agreed that they did look rather nice together. Something about them just clicked - they just seemed to fit together.

"So?"

Her question surprised him. "So, what?"

"So," she repeated. "Tell me about how Jason feels - has he said anything to you?"

Sonny scoffed. "Yeah, Bren, he spilled everything during our last heart-to-heart last night over a carton of Ben & Jerry's."

Brenda smacked his arm, not tolerant of his sarcastic humor. "Don't be an ass," she scolded, "and answer the question."

Sonny rolled his eyes. "Honestly? He hasn't said anything to me about Beth - probably because he knows how we're such good friends and he knows that if he says anything much it'll weird me out."

Brenda nodded, motioning for him to continue.

"But I do kinda know what he's thinking. He really wants to spend some time alone with her," Sonny explained as Brenda nodded silently. "The only time they get is during lunch when they're in his car, but even then, they usually meet some other kids in the restaurant or whatever."

Brenda sighed, blowing at her bangs.

"But at the same time," Sonny continued, leaning his elbow on the table and resting his head in his hand. "He doesn't want to move too fast because he knows it'll scare her."

"Or he _thinks_ it'll scare her," Brenda added.

Sonny nodded. "Yeah. Bottom line, he doesn't want to move too fast and do anything that might make her uncomfortable. And that's a good thing, I guess - I think it means that he really likes her."

"She likes him, too," Brenda admitted. "But I guess he's kinda right - she likes how they're taking it slow and there's no real pressure yet." She quirked a brow at Sonny. "Just how slow _are_ they taking it?"

"Well, I take it you know that he hasn't even kissed her yet?"

Brenda nodded.

"_That_ slow."

The brunette huffed in frustration. "They may as well be moving backwards."

Sonny nodded his head in agreement. "At this right, who knows if they'll even have gotten anywhere by graduation? I mean, it's already Spring Break. Not much left after that except AP exams."

A spark lit in Brenda's chocolate eyes. "Wait a minute - what's Jason doing for Spring Break? Are you doing anything together?"

Sonny nodded. "We don't have any definite plans yet, but-"

Brenda's eyes glittered. "Trust me - now you do."

* * *

"SPRING BREAK!" Jason could hardly contain himself as he slammed his locker shut at the end of the day. The senior hallway was packed with kids, all of them a little wistful over the fact that this would be their last spring break - their first _real_ one, though - but still extremely happy to not have to set eyes on the school for full week.

"Hell, yeah!" Brendan yelled before almost falling flat on his face when Jason finally managed to trip him. He made a move to chase his friend down the hall but stopped and turned around when his girlfriend Jenny approached.

Elizabeth, Brenda, Lauren, and Sydney all stood at Sydney's locker, laughing at some of the other students as they chose rather silly ways to express their joy over the beginning of the spring recess. Nearby, Sonny hurriedly pulled his books from his locker, almost bumping Sydney on the head as he did almost every day.

Jason could be seen down the hallway, horsing around with some of his other friends, and Elizabeth watched him, for the first time not embarrassed to be caught doing so. She couldn't help but burst out laughing when Ed Baer, in a fit of excitement, raced to bull rush Jason from behind. Jason, ever the agile one, just bent his knees and hunched over, causing Ed to literally catapult himself over him and end up sprawled on his stomach.

Jason laughed at his friend as he picked himself up and spotted Elizabeth standing with Sonny and the rest of her friends. He shouted a goodbye to his friends and sauntered over, his blue eyes twinkling when he met Elizabeth's gaze.

"Hey," was all she said when he approached. Her smile was immediate and his face instantly softened.

"Hey, yourself," he replied, winking at her. He tipped his head at Sonny and Brenda, not noticing the sly looks that passed between them. "So, ready to head on out?"

"Definitely," Brenda interceded, balancing her books on her hip and beaming at Jason. "I'm more than ready for some fun - but it'll sure take a lot of work to forget everything we've learned this year over one week."

"I'm sure you'll manage, Brenda," Elizabeth assured her, rolling her eyes.

Brenda smirked at her best friend before turning to Jason. "So, what are you doing for Spring Break?" she asked innocently, knowing that Elizabeth would be interested in his answer as well.

And that she was - but only to a certain extent. As long as he wasn't going to be getting morbidly drunk on a beach somewhere in Mexico and banging two girls at a time, she was good.

Jason shrugged, glancing at Sonny. "It's up to the _Don_," he smiled.

"Oh?" Elizabeth's questioning emerald eyes found Sonny.

Sonny shrugged also. "We're probably going someplace," he answered.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks."

Sonny laughed. "Well, I haven't actually decided yet, but it'll be somewhere warm."

Elizabeth's brows furrowed. "Don't you have to buy tickets and stuff, though?" Airplanes were such a hassle. There was a _reason_ that she and Brenda were driving all the way to North Carolina instead of taking a plane.

Sonny shook his head. "You remember my uncle? The airline exec? Yeah, well, he said he could get me tickets to wherever, and I asked for two, for me and Jason. I just have to figure out where to go."

Jason nodded. "I personally said Cancun."

Sonny shook his head again. "_Everyone_ will be there. I'm not even kidding - I know at least forty kids that are going there. It won't be any fun. I'm personally hoping my uncle knows of some small beach somewhere, maybe near a small town, where we can just do what we want and own everyone at the same time."

Jason shrugged. "Sure, wherever. Sounds good to me." He winked at Elizabeth. "I guess I'll find out two minutes before we board the plane."

Brenda laughed, leaning a shoulder against her locker. Sonny licked his lips, swallowing a smirk that no one noticed.

"So," Jason began, looking first at Brenda and then at Elizabeth. "What are you guys doing?"

Elizabeth was the first to speak. "I know this really nice little area in North Carolina, and so Bren and I are just going to drive down there and play the ukulele and get fat."

"That's what we do _every_ day," Brenda clarified. "Make no mistake."

Jason laughed. "Sounds like fun." The girls nodded, already smiling at the thought of fresh seafood and white beaches. Jason took the opportunity to point toward the stairwell. "Shall we?"

"We must," Brenda replied grandly, spinning around and linking fingers with Sonny. She chattered away excitedly about how much fun the next week was going to be as Sonny just grinned and Elizabeth and Jason trailed behind.

* * *

The North Carolina sun was hot and bright as it slowly burned Brenda's shoulders and bounced off the playful blue waves.

Stretched out on an expanse of white sand on their own thin towels, Elizabeth and Brenda had been enjoying their first day in the state. Upon arrival at around eleven in the morning, they had dumped their stuff at their neat little hotel room - _The Dancing Crab_, of course - and headed over to the beach to sleep away their fatigue after the grueling drive.

Now, they were basking in the sun and trying to work up the energy to apply sunscreen. Clothed only in her black bikini, Brenda poked her shoulder and jumped slightly when she found it beginning to burn. That was all the incentive she needed to grab the _Neutrogena SPF 30_ from Elizabeth's beach bag and slather some on.

Elizabeth lifted her head with great effort and glanced down at her body. She was wearing red swimming shorts that clung to her petite frame and outlined her curves gracefully. A scrap of a black bikini top with red straps covered her pale skin - skin that apparently refused to tan. Even after an hour in direct sunlight, the color change was so subtle that Brenda swore it didn't exist. Was there really a need for sunscreen?

A million statistics about skin cancer and UV damage bombarded her brain and Elizabeth reached for the bottle when Brenda was done.

A seagull squawked indignantly somewhere up above them. The waves crashed against the shore, shattering into white foam that disappeared under the bright sunlight. The sand burned gently against her heel where it poked off the towel, but Elizabeth liked the feeling.

Taking a deep breath, the brunette was about to settle into a long overdue cat nap when Brenda's voice broke through the serene almost-silence.

"I'm so glad we did this."

Elizabeth smiled. "Me, too."

Brenda sat up, leaning back on her elbows and looking over at her best friend from under large black glasses. "I mean, I'm so glad I'm here with _you_, Beth. I'm so glad that we made it. I mean, can you believe that this time two years ago, we didn't even know each other?"

Elizabeth thought back to that time. It was during the spring of her first year at PC High, and her circle of friends was limited. She'd only heard of the infamous Brenda Barrett, and had never thought that she'd become such good friends with her.

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "I'm just so happy we did."

Brenda smiled, gazing out at the water. "Me, too. We have to stay in touch, Beth, when we go away to college. Seriously. I mean, I know everyone says that, but they just _don't_. I don't want that to happen to us."

"I agree," Elizabeth nodded adamantly. "Totally. I just found you, man - I'm not going to let something stupid like college end this friendship. I mean, think of all the illegal things you still have to get me to do!"

Brenda glared playfully at her, knowing Elizabeth didn't see her. "Whatever, Webber - I'm a good girl, I am!" she added in her best Eliza Doolittle impression.

Elizabeth giggled. "I believe _that_. This is the same girl that came over and pulled me out of the bed at two in the morning, forced me to sneak out of the house, and engaged me in a game of imaginary baseball in the empty lot on Pine Grove? Ha."

Brenda laughed. "That was fun, wasn't it?"

"Definitely," Elizabeth agreed. "I can't tell you how great it felt to sneak out like that. Even though I was totally freaking out - it still felt amazing."

"You were a wreck," Brenda recalled. "You were convinced your parents would pull up and demand you go back home with them."

Elizabeth sighed as the memories came back. "We always have to do things like that, Bren," she said seriously, her voice soft. "It keeps us from going crazy, you know?"

"Mm-hmm," Brenda nodded. "Totally. Which is why we're not going to lose touch after graduation." She turned sideways, her shadow shielding Elizabeth's eyes from the sun. "Speaking of which, have you gotten a reply from Stanford yet?"

Elizabeth growled, flinging an arm over her face. "No."

Brenda let out a sound of exasperation. "When, then? They need to stop jerking you around, girl."

"Tell me about it," Elizabeth bitterly agreed. "I should know for sure by April. But I figure it this way - hopefully it wouldn't take them this long if they were just going to reject me, you know?"

Brenda nodded. "I know you'll get in, Beth," she reassured supportively. "I can feel it."

"I certainly hope so." There was a brief pause in the conversation. "So have you decided for sure yet?"

Brenda nodded. "Yup - NYU all the way."

"Oh, Bren, that's great!" Elizabeth jumped up from her towel and threw her arms around Brenda's neck. New York University had been Brenda's dream school, and it was such a relief to know that everything had worked out. "You're going to be so happy there!"

"I know," Brenda grinned, her eyes dancing with excitement. "I'm going to be right in New York - can you imagine that? And Sonny's going there, too." Elizabeth wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, but Brenda plowed on. "Plus, my dad's happy that I'm not going to be too far from home."

Elizabeth nodded. "That's good," she replied sincerely. "I always wondered what he'd do if his youngest daughter moved really far away."

Brenda nodded. "Yeah, he wouldn't deal too well. Anway, are your parents still gung-ho about Johns Hopkins? Will they consider anything else?"

Elizabeth considered it for a moment. "Well, they're not as bad as they used to be. I think they realized that this is _my_ decision. And at least they've stopped trying to convince me that Stanford is, like, a shithole school in comparison to Johns."

"Good!" Brenda burst out. "That drove me crazy - especially since it's not true at all."

"Yeah." Elizabeth slowly lowered herself back onto the towel as the conversation sagged. As usual, the sun was putting her to sleep. "I'm sure it'll all work out. At least, that's what I keep telling myself."

Brenda laughed, smacking her arm gently. "It _will_, Beth. You'll be great at whatever you choose to do, so try not to worry prematurely."

"Mmm." The low murmur told Brenda that her best friend was almost asleep, something she couldn't allow. She needed something to wake her up short of splashing her with cold water and quick.

"I wonder what Sonny and Jason are doing."

Elizabeth peeked at her with one eye. "Mm."

"I wonder if they went to Cancun after all."

Elizabeth crinkled her nose. "I doubt it," she replied after a minute. "Sonny's pretty stubborn - but I'm sure I didn't have to tell you that."

"No joke," Brenda muttered, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, maybe they went somewhere completely different. Hawaii? Spain, maybe? Sonny's always wanted to go to Spain."

Her friend replied with a firm shake of her head. "He's always wanted to go, but only with his mother."

"Oh." Brenda glanced at her watch, which was lying on her towel. She took one look at Elizabeth, whose blue eyes were still peeking out, but barely, and forced a scowl to darken her features. "They'd better not be doing it with any other spring break whores."

Elizabeth's scowl mirrored hers before the brunette composed herself. "Whatever."

Brenda quirked a brow at the flip tone of her voice and wondered how to prolong this conversation without actually making Elizabeth angry.

But thankfully, the spunky brunette didn't have to resort to any of her games to keep Elizabeth from falling asleep.

"Beth! Bren! Hey!" Sonny's warm voice floated through the warm air and Elizabeth instantly catapulted herself from her position and whipped around, staring.

"Hey, Sonny!" Brenda exclaimed with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "What in the world are you doing here?"

"I'll give you one guess as to which town my uncle recommended!" Sonny yelled back, flipping his white towel over his shoulder. He waved to Elizabeth, but his friend was too busy staring beyond him as another, taller, blonder, boy came into view, wearing nothing but his swimming trunks and Jesus sandals, and holding nothing but a towel and a surfboard.

"Jason?"

His face lit up immediately at the sound of her surprised voice. "Hey, Little One!" He spread his arms, gesturing to the location. "What're the odds, huh?"

"Pretty damn good, I'd say," Sonny muttered under his breath as he spread his towel next to Brenda's. He was rewarded with her laughter and as he raked a gaze over her, he found himself hoping she hadn't rubbed on any sunscreen yet.

Jason threw his surfboard on the sand and dropped his towel next to Elizabeth's. Sitting down, he kicked off his sandals and wiggled his eyebrows at her. She just shook her head at him, and her smile was brighter than the sun.

Lowering herself slowly back, she was soon lying back on the towel, the opened but unused bottle of sunblock lying between them.

"It's hot," Jason stated, squinting out at the water.

Elizabeth only nodded, a ghost of a smile gracing her lips. It felt so amazing to know that he was here with her, especially when it was the last thing she expected. Words weren't necessary right now.

He glanced at her, his eyes trailing over her flat stomach and the cleavage her top allowed. "You put on any sunscreen yet?"

She looked up in surprise, then shook her head no. "I was about to, but then I got distracted."

He nodded and picked up the tube. "My mom freaks out if I lay around in the sun without slathering this stuff on," he explained, squeezing out a white blob on his hand. He tipped his chin toward her. "Want me to?"

She knew what he was talking about and tried to keep her shrug as indifferent as possible. "Sure."

He fought not to grin wickedly down at her. "Turn over."

She obliged, lying flat on her stomach with her head on her arms and her legs kicking lazily in the air. She soon felt his warm hands rub the lukewarm sunblock on her back in large circular motions, and decided she must be in heaven.

His gentle and soothing ministrations were so relaxing and tender that she soon found her eyelids drooping under the pleasantly hot sun. The last thing she thought before a peaceful slumber claimed her was, _this is going to be an amazing spring break_.


	7. Making Out Like Criminals

**Making Out Like Criminals**

_Clover, North Carolina - Third day of spring break_

"Jason's an idiot."

"No argument here."

"Good. Because otherwise, _you'd_ be an idiot."

Sonny Corinthos sighed in acceptance, shifting his broad shoulders a bit as he lay flat on his back. The towel rasped against his skin and the sun decided it would be fun to hit that perfect angle to effectively blind him.

But it was all good - it was too nice of a day to begrudge the sun for temporarily robbing him of his vision. There was a soft breeze that fairly swept over the land, tickling the inhabitants as the bright sun cast its gentle glow down to warm them, or as Brenda believed, solely to turn their skin a darker color. And it wasn't doing a good enough job at that as it was. The endless expanse of ocean stretched out before them, a mass of blue topaz glittering in the sun. Somewhere up above, the seagulls squawked at each other in irritation, but their cries seemed far-off.

Next to him, Brenda was stretched out on her own towel. She had propped herself up on her elbow, allowing Sonny a better view of her shapely body and the poor black bikini that attempted to cover it and didn't do a very good job.

Normally, under such circumstances, the _last_ thing that Sonny would have thought about was Jason.

But unfortunately, Jason was _all_ he and Brenda had been thinking about for the last hour. Poor, stupid Jason, who was too big an oaf to get off his butt and make some moves on the object of his constant worship.

And right now, Jason was sitting next to Elizabeth, who was sprawled out on her back, and the two were engrossed in deep conversation.

Sonny found himself wondering just what was wrong with his best friend - the male one, of course. Jason was _never_ like this. Jason would never _know_ how to be this sweet and gentlemanly if his life depended on it.

No, the real Jason Morgan, though certainly not a womanizer, knew how to get his girls and keep them interested until he was done with them. Sure, his methodology was kind of crude, but it worked for Jason.

And so to see him, the resident Makeout King, tiptoeing along to a relationship while Sonny's own was progressing so nicely made the young man's skin almost break out in hives. Pretty soon the sky would start falling.

And he found himself hoping that some of Brenda's initiative and aggressiveness would rub off on his other best friend, the one that seemed only too content with their slower-than-a-snail pace.

But that was when he realized he was being cocky, something he rarely was. Just because he and Brenda had finally decided to explore the prospect of a relationship was no reason for him to think he suddenly knew the makings of the rich tapestry of human affection, and what's more, adolescent affection. Or at least, that was what his mother would say.

He glanced over at Brenda, who was busy keeping one eye on the ocean and one eye on Jason and Elizabeth. Her straight brown hair fell past her shoulders and rippled gently as the wind ruffled through it. Her pink lips pinched out a bit, and he could almost see the wheels in her head as they turned and cranked, looking at the Jason and Elizabeth situation from every possible angle.

And as he turned his head away and stretched out again on his soft towel, Sonny had to admit that he couldn't be more pleased over how his own relationship with his _own_ fiery brunette was developing.

Thankfully, the awkward stage that his father referred to as the "courting dance" had passed, giving full way to the "mating ritual". Sonny couldn't believe that his dad actually used these terms, and in front of his friends, no less. His mother couldn't, either.

But regardless of his father's unique and at times, absurd terminology, the only thing that mattered was that he and Brenda were no longer dancing back and forth, repeating the same steps until they forgot how to do anything else.

No, that terrible tango had ended on the Friday afternoon before Spring Break. After separating from Jason and Elizabeth, the two of them had raced over to Brenda's house to finish formulating their plans at the kitchen table over a plate of lightly salted tortilla chips and warm apple cider.

The last details were ironed out, travelling arrangements were made - Brenda would be borrowing her dad's car for the long drive instead of driving her own car, and Sonny and Jason would fly down and rent a car at the airport for the rest of their stay.

During the last of this ironing, Sonny was willing to admit he had become rather cozy with the spunky brunette. He had long ago scooted his chair right next to hers, had admittedly leaned into Brenda, and brazenly let his hand brush hers as they scarfed down the chips. Jason would have been proud - before long, his seemingly innocuous actions had given way to low, quiet conversations about things far from the situation at hand.

And before he knew what he was doing, Sonny was leaning in and kissing her.

As soon as they pulled away, all of his smooth ways hastily departed, leaving Sonny a tightly-wound bundle of nerves and awkwardness. He remembered mumbling something incoherent as he grabbed his winter coat and all but fled from the Barrett estate.

But fortunately, Sonny had a conscience, and it made him feel like a dog. So that evening, he did the bravest thing he had ever done: he picked up the telephone and called her. It was that two-hour-and-thirteen-minute conversation that had his dad yelling that he had to make a business call and his mother wondering just _what_ was wrong with her son that cemented Sonny's relationship with Brenda. It didn't take long to persuade the independent brunette to give their burgeoning relationship a whirl. She knew as well as he did that there was _something_ between them, and agreed to explore it with him.

He suspected that as soon as he had gotten off the telephone with her, Brenda had called Elizabeth for some girl talk, judging by the fact that Elizabeth didn't even blink when she saw him kiss her when they arrived at the beach.

Brenda's agitated sigh broke through his thoughts and he peered at her from under his arm. From the look on her face, he knew she had been searching for some sort of solution for their slow friends and had come up empty-handed.

"At this rate, I vote that _I_ start to hit on her until Jason gets his ass in gear."

Brenda tossed him a nasty glare. "I don't think so, Corinthos."

Sonny hid a smirk as he regarded her once more from under his arm. "Do you object, Miss Barrett?"

Her eyes narrowed at his teasing, and she leaned slightly closer. "Very much so."

"And why is that?"

She bit her lip at his joking question, determined not to smile. She leaned closer still, and when the breeze blew just _so_, her silky brown hair tickled his chest. "Because I like to think you're taken."

And with that, she leaned closer until she was almost on top of him, her hands now braced at either side of his shoulders. Her dark hair curtained his face when she leaned down and pressed her lips softly to his.

She could just hear her father's voice - _"You don't need to be kissing anyone, Buttercup! If you and your lips have so much free time, why don't you learn how to play the bugle?"_ - but she ignored it. Sonny's hand was now at the back of her neck, gently stroking the hair at her nape and effectively pulling her closer at the same time. His warm lips parted immediately when she demanded entrance with her tongue, and she could almost feel the smile on his face.

And then, suddenly, his hands were on her lovehandles and he expertly flipped her over on her back, landing her on her own towel. Their tongues mated, bolder now, more daring and executing quick, darting flicks and thrusts. Her fingers curled through his soft ebony hair, gently fingering the thick natural curls that formed when he didn't use any gel. His hands smoothed down her sides, igniting her skin along the way.

He chuckled into her mouth when the kiss lessened in intensity, thinking about what she had just said about him being taken - specifically, by her. When Brenda pulled away, her arms still looped around his neck, there was no mistaking the mischievous glint in his coal eyes.

"Aw, honey," he growled, winking down at her confused grin. "You can take me anytime."

His words had their desired affect - Brenda laughed. But while she did so, she pressed her small hands against his chest and effectively pushed him away and on to his own towel.

"Stop being an ass-clown." She rolled her eyes at him, but Sonny could tell she was amused. Especially since he never said anything like that. And especially not to her.

"Yes, ma'am." He retired back onto his towel, stretching out in contentment once more. The North Carolina sun was still glaringly bright, requiring Sonny to once again drape an arm over his eyes.

He kept watch over Brenda as he did so, one eye open to peek out at her. She returned to glaring in Jason and Elizabeth's general direction. The two seemed to be curled up even closer now, still engrossed in deep conversation. Every now and then, Elizabeth would giggle and Jason would be grinning.

"Man," the brunette sighed, her gaze departing from them and scanning over the infinite ocean as it stretched out before them. "What I wouldn't give to be a fly on that...beach towel."

Sonny snorted, closing his eyes. "You make no sense sometimes, Barrett."

"Stifle, _Don_."

Another snort escaped Sonny as he opened his eyes and sat up next to her. "Oh," he huffed, his voice teasing and light. "So now you're using _All in the Family_ lines on me?"

Brenda smirked in response, not answering.

"Good show," Sonny continued, surveying the water with a crooked grin. "My mom and I watch it all the time. But your impression was sorely lacking."

Brenda rolled her eyes. "I didn't know you took it so seriously," she teased back. "So tell me, how does a pro - or I guess the word would be _connoiseur_ - do it?"

"_Stifle, Edith_."

Despite her teasing him, Brenda had to laugh. "That's pretty good," she remarked appreciatively. "I must admit, I'm a fan."

Sonny smiled, secretly pleased. "Of course it's good," he scoffed. "I'm a devoted viewer."

"I always liked the theme song," Brenda mused. "Something about it - it's just so catchy. Totally reminds me of the 'old America' my dad's always reminiscing about."

"Yeah," Sonny nodded. "I know what you mean - it has that wholesome aspect to it."

"Totally," Brenda agreed. "Those must have been the real good old days."

"Oh, definitely," Sonny agreed with conviction and a smirk. "Those were the golden days. _And you knew what you were then-_"

Brenda couldn't believe her ears when Sonny began singing, but that wasn't as surprising to her as when he leaned into her and insisted she sway along to the beat with him as he crooned away.

"_Girls were girls and men were men-"_

"_Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover back then..."_

Their joined voices - Sonny's deep baritone and Brenda's melodic alto drifted over to where Jason and Elizabeth were sitting. Elizabeth stared at them over her shoulder, not sure if she was seeing things or not. Sonny never sang - it just wasn't a Sonny thing to do. The fact that he started Bohemian in Calculus was a blue-moon moment alone, and now he had suddenly made Brenda his Cher? Unbelievable.

"A duet," she affirmed, shaking her head at the two as they bopped away on the sand. "Now I've seen everything."

Jason snickered. "Good show, though."

Elizabeth's smile returned. "You watch it? I thought me, Sonny, and Brenda were the only nerds that did."

"Oh, no," Jason replied with a grin and a modest shake of his head. "I'm definitely a _Family_ nerd, too. I watch it with my grandfather whenever we both have time. Otherwise, if, like, I'm busy with work or track and he's busy with his business meetings, AJ will tape it for us. He's still too young to actually get the humor, but ever since he learned how to program the VCR, he's been taping it because he knows we love it. And whenever my older sister Emily comes home, all three of us watch it together."

"Where is your sister, again?" Elizabeth wanted to know. She'd heard a lot about Emily - Jason seemed to adore her.

"She lives in Chicago," Jason answered. His fingers traced a pattern in the sand. "She's been there for about three years now, ever since her firm relocated her."

"She's a lawyer, right?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah. She's into corporate law."

Elizabeth grinned, seeing the irony in his situation.

Jason noticed, because he grinned back. "Yeah, I know what you're thinking," he blushed, glancing down at the sand. He noticed his drawing - which looked too much like a heart for his liking - and quickly squiggled his fingers over it before continuing. "That's what everyone laughs about - my big sister is an up-and-coming corporate lawyer, and my grandfather is the original embodiment of corporate America."

Elizabeth giggled. "Well, you have to admit, it's quite a twist." She was rewarded with Jason's easy laughter. "I can only imagine that Thanksgiving must be mighty interesting."

"Without fail," he nodded with a twinge of embarrassment. "The Morgan's don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to holidays or parties - something always goes horribly awry."

"Really?" Elizabeth scooted closer, her eyes glittering with mirth. "Like what? Tell me - I really want to hear another one of your stories. You seem to have a lot, by the way," she added with a smirk. Jason just grinned, wiggling his eyebrows at her. "All of our parties are dreadfully boring - my sister and I usually end up falling asleep in our chairs."

Jason smirked at her casual use of words such as _dreadful_ - seriously, who did that?

Elizabeth, that was who.

"Well," he began slowly, racking his brain for the funniest anecdote he could come up with on such short notice. "The last party we had was when ELM's stocks and profits went back after a real second-quarter slump. It was just family and close business associates of my grandfather, and it was supposed to be one of those super-stodgy dinner parties replete with champagne-clinking, caviar-eating, European-kissing capitalist monsters."

Elizabeth smiled at his description, beckoning for him to continue with her eyes.

"Yeah. Well, you can bet that wasn't how the evening turned out, much to my grandmother's delight and my grandfather's dismay," Jason chuckled. "See, my grandparents are the super prim and proper type - they are the most abominably English people you could ever hope not to meet. I mean, how could they not? My grandfather came here from England when he was about my age, and when he had enough money, he went back and married my grandmother and they both settled down here. And even as they grew older, they've totally retained all their fancy traditions and dusty manners. I mean, it's really weird sometimes."

"Oh, I can totally relate," Elizabeth sighed with a wave of her hand. "That describes my grandma to a tee. She's a total Julie Andrews - too bad for her that my grandfather is the opposite. He's the total free-spirited, outspoken, sloppy American. We like to say that he corrupted her, because she's slowly slipping to the dark side." Jason laughed, and it occurred to him that he suddenly wanted to meet this grandfather that she spoke of so often. "But please, continue. Don't mind my rambling - I do it a lot. Just ignore me."

He quirked her a brow, as if to say, _Do you really think I'd ever ignore you?_ But after clearing his throat, he continued. "So, basically, my grandfather is the one for all these stuffy parties and routines. My grandmother pretends to be, for my grandfather's sake. But while my grandfather's idea of a party is just what I described, my grandmother's a fan of blasting Led Zeppelin and tearing apart the den. She'd join in physically, if she could, but she can't, so she just sings along to my vinyls at the top of her lung. And whenever grandfather barges in and asks who was just carrying on with that awful caterwauling, as he puts it, we pretend it's AJ. The single best kept secret in the family is that my Julie Andrews grandmother, as you put it, knows all the words to _Custard Pie_."

Elizabeth was giggling hysterically at the image of an elderly woman wailing out Led Zep. "You're kidding me!"

Jason just shook his head. "Nope. So this party was her worst nightmare, and my grandfather's dream come true. The caterers didn't mess up like they usually do, the family all managed to show up all nice and pressed without clothes stained by dirt or chocolate, and the temporary butler - he's the same guy my grandfather hires every time on my grandmother's orders - didn't offend anybody."

Elizabeth nodded, enjoying the story.

"But then, one of my grandfather's friend's sons decided it would be a great time to get smashed, so he did. And then all the other guys his age saw that he wasn't holding back, so they began guzzling, too. And before the hors' deurves were taken away, there were a bunch of college-age kids dancing on the coffee table - without pants."

Elizabeth collapsed back on her towel in a fit of laughter. "Oh, my god. No way."

"Way," Jason confirmed. "It was terrible. And my grandfather was so angry that you could literally _see_ the giant vein in his forehead throbbing. My grandmother, however, was having a great time. She dared me to go get my Bon Jovi CDs, so I did, and we put them in the intercom system and just _blasted_ them throughout the house." He laughed at the memory. "It's a good thing that all of our neighbors were at our party, and totally hammered, at that, or they would've sent the entire PCPD to our front door."

"And it would have made the front page the next day," Elizabeth added. "Splashed across the paper in giant letters-"

"_Morgan Moshin'_," Jason finished with a grimace. "And that's what it was, too - one giant mosh pit in my living room. Grandfather wouldn't set foot in that room until the carpet had been replaced and the walls repainted."

Elizabeth snickered. "That bad, huh?"

"Worse," Jason chuckled despite himself. "But my grandmother still had the time of her life that night."

Elizabeth laughed, her eyes dancing. "I can ima-"

Her words were cut off by a shrill, whooping yell, followed by several equally loud screams. Both couples snapped around to see what in the world was causing such an obscene raucus, and were greeted to the sight of a small group of what appeared to be local teenagers running toward the small boathouse where a buddy of their's already had a revved up speedboat going in the water.

The boys wore swim trunks and assorted t-shirts, and the girls wore skimpy bathing suits that left less than nothing to the imagination. They were carrying a picnic basket and a cooler while the boys toted a few six-packs. Elizabeth's lips twisted in disgust as the boys helped the girls into the boat. Well, maybe _helped_ wasn't the right word. _Groped_ was more like it. And she could only imagine what would ensue once they were all on the boat, especially with all that alcohol.

She barely glanced up as Sonny and Brenda joined them on the towels, her blue eyes trained on the white boat as it sped off against the waves. "Ugh," she groaned. "Why would people _act_ like that? It's sickening."

"Bimbos," Brenda muttered under her breath. "I can't believe we have to share the beach with _them_."

"I know," Elizabeth agreed. "And did you _see_ what they were doing yesterday?"

"Yeah," brenda exclaimed, the look of sheer disgust on her face mirroring Elizabeth's. "It was like a freaking orgy on the sand. Dear God, I'm glad we decided to move down a bit - I swear, I could smell the beer from where we were sitting."

"I don't understand why kids our age would do that to their bodies," Sonny broke in, shaking his head. "I mean, I must be stupid or something, but I just really _don't_ get it."

"Me neither," Jason huffed. "All I know is that I don't plan on getting loaded any time soon." Even without all the anti-drug and anti-alcohol lectures Coach Preuss had subjected them to, Jason knew of the detrimental affects of intoxicants on the body thanks to his parents, and as long as he was running, he would never subject his body to that. A runner took care of his body - nourished it, nurtured it, kept it in tip-top condition at all times - and it would be too careless, not to mention stupid, of him to just throw it away by pumping his veins full of mind-numbing, judgement-fogging, liver-solidifying rotting barley water, or whatever the heck the stuff was made from.

"And those girls - they're an entirely different story," Elizabeth continued, shaking her head with dismay. She didn't intend to sound like a purist or entertain a holier-than-thou attitude, but she had her beliefs and she stuck with them. "I'm sorry, but some people make me embarrassed to be a girl."

"I know what you mean," Brenda sighed. "They give the rest of us a bad name." She squinted off at the boat full of the offending adolescents, which was now just a speck against the deep blue. "Those are the exact type of kids that my dad is so afraid of. I think he's, like, paranoid that if I interact with those sort of people, I'll become like one of them, which is so totally insulting."

"Don't worry," Elizabeth consoled her best friend. "I'm sure my parents feel the same way about me. I mean, it's not like kids our age have any sense of identity or personal integrity, or even more shocking, a mind of their own."

Jason smiled at the sarcasm dripping from her voice. He was certain that her parents would realize one day how lucky they were to have such a mature and strong daughter.

Brenda sighed in agreement. "Yeah. My dad would personally kill me if he thought I was hanging around kids like that. Heck, he doesn't even know that you two," she gestured to Sonny and Jason, "are here. He thinks it's just me and Beth, enjoying our favorite little town by the beach. He'd kill me if he knew we were spending our time running around with you two boys."

Jason smirked at Sonny, who had grown increasingly nervous. "Yeah," he cried, glaring jokingly at Sonny. "So stop man-handling her, Corinthos, otherwise Papa'll take away her little deuce coupe."

Sonny shot Jason a murderous glare, and was about to retort with, _Well, at least one of us has the guts to man-handle someone_, but decided it would be wrong to embarrass Elizabeth like that. And besides that, Brenda beat him to the punch.

"First, he's not man-handling me, you jerk-face, and second, Pat is not a 'little deuce coupe' - he's a sports car and a damn good one at that."

Jason looked at her, thoroughly confused. "Wait - Pat?"

Elizabeth nodded, splaying her fingers across the warm sand. "Yeah, that's his name - Pat Porsche." She looked at Brenda, who was still glaring at the blonde. "He's a great car, by the way. I can't believe you let me drive him - that was _so_ incredible."

Brenda's face broke into an easy smile. "No problem," she replied warmly. "If you ever want to take him for a ride again, just let me know. And besides, you really surprised me - no _way_ have you only driven stick twice before."

Normally, Jason would have made some off-color comment about the phrase _driven stick_, but he was too confused at the moment to do so.

Elizabeth nodded. "Seriously, I never drive manual, but my dad let me test-drive his Mustang when he went through his mid-life crisis, and he taught me the general gist of it."

"Still," Brenda trailed off. "I was impressed - you only had to restart once."

Elizabeth shook her head. "You know, it's always the starting from a stop light that gets me. For some reason, I just can't coordinate the clutch and gear and gas at that point. I mean, stop _signs_, I'm fine, but stop lights just-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Jason interrupted, putting an end to their conversation. "I'm still confused - _Pat_? That's what you call your _car_?"

Brenda looked at him as if he had suddenly sprouted three heads. "Yeah. So? What's your point?"

"You call your car that," Jason repeated.

"Yeah."

"_Why_?"

Elizabeth laughed at the sheer perplexion in his voice. "Because that's the car's name."

"But why would you name a _car_?" Jason repeated, looking imploringly from Elizabeth to Brenda.

"Why not?" Brenda tossed back, leaning her hands behind her on the towel.

Jason stared at her for a moment, trying to formulate a response. "Because it's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"It is not!" Brenda exclaimed, bristling under this latest attack.

Next to her, Sonny nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. "Well, Ric named his car. Calls her Penelope."

"What? _Ric_?" Jason could barely believe his ears. He knew Sonny's hippie older brother was a little different, but even _he_ named his car?

"Lots of people do," Elizabeth offered. "Name their car, that is."

Jason glanced at her. "Do you?"

She bit her lip, pausing for a moment. "Well, no, but you just heard Sonny say that his brother does, and so does Brenda."

"And _Penelope_?" Jason repeated. "Why on earth would he name it Penelope?"

Sonny shrugged again. "Beats me. I'm just glad he doesn't kiss it goodbye anymore. I mean, I know it's an authentic Checker cab, but seriously - come on."

Brenda ignored Sonny's muttering as she answered Jason's question instead. "He named it Penelope because it has to be a girls' name."

"What?" Jason's head was spinning - this made no sense whatsoever.

"Yeah," Elizabeth nodded. Apparently, she was in on the insanity. "Guys have to give their cars a girl name, and girls have to give their car a guy name."

"Again, I ask, _why_?" Jason's voice was flat, letting them all know that he thought this was the most insipid custom ever.

"Just because, Jason," Elizabeth burst out. "People name their cars because they want to. As for the guy-girl thing, I don't know - that's just how it is."

"And it's just a name, after all," Brenda broke in. "It's not like we carry on active conversations with them or anything. And besides," her irritation was replaced with a mischievous smirk. "It's not like we sing to them or anything."

That ended the argument as far as Jason was concerned. Sonny couldn't help but chuckle himself as Jason shot the brunette a lethal glare.

"Sing?" Elizabeth echoed Brenda's words. "What's this about singing?"

Brenda crooked a mocking smile at her. "Jason here is in the habit of singing to his precious motorcycle."

Elizabeth's eyes flew open as wide as saucers. "Wait - you have a motorcycle?"

Still embarrassed by Brenda's disclosure of top-secret information, Jason could only nod. But Elizabeth didn't notice his reservations as she smacked him lightly on the arm with the back of his hand, and now it was Jason's turn to gape at her with saucer eyes.

"You have a bike? How come I never heard of this?" Elizabeth's words tumbled out rapidly, one after another, as they always did when she was excited. "And you _sing_ to it?" Jason cringed at the incredulity in her voice. "What, may I ask, do you sing?"

Jason remained silent a moment before glancing away at the ocean and mumbling something under his breath.

"What was that, Jase?" Brenda asked sweetly, a Cheshire cat grin stretching across her face.

"Yeah," Sonny chimed in, knowing he was going to be receiving a bruise on the shoulder but not caring. "Care to repeat that?"

Jason shot daggers at both of them, again mumbling something under his breath.

"What?" Elizabeth strained to hear him, curious yet giggling despite herself at his insecurity.

"_Little Deuce Coupe_, all right?" Jason bellowed, throwing his arms in the air. "There! Are you freaking happy now?"

Brenda and Elizabeth collapsed in a fit of laughter at the mental image of Jason crooning the Beach Boys to his precious hog.

"Oh, man," Elizabeth exclaimed, trying to compose herself. "No wonder that phrase was so fresh in your mind," she teased.

That reminded Brenda of Jason's first affront against her. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against Sonny's side, glaring at Jason. "And Pat is _not_ a little deuce coupe, for the record."

Jason rolled his eyes, not wanting his honor to suffer any more at the hands of the fiery brunette. "Whatever, Barrett."

Sonny's huff of annoyance attracted Elizabeth's attention, and when she followed his gaze she found it trained on the same speedboat as it now raced across the water in the opposite direction. The young people on board were still yelling and whooping, and Elizabeth wondered what the highest blood alcohol content on that boat was. When she caught Sonny's gaze again, he rolled his eyes at the ocean and was rewarded with Elizabeth's agreeing smirk.

"I'm hungry," Brenda announced, turning away from the boat. "Let's get some food."

"I could go for that," Jason agreed, stretching out and patting his rumbling stomach. "I haven't eaten anything since last night."

"Last night?" Elizabeth echoed. "Why? What happened to breakfast?"

Jason shrugged, jutting his chin out at Sonny. "We went running and just ended up staying out here until you guys showed up."

Concern pushed Brenda's eyebrows down as she shook her head at him. "You two should have said something," she scolded. "Beth and I ate breakfast and _then_ came out - we had no idea you boys were going on nothing-"

Sonny interrupted her with a dismissive shake of his head. "It's okay, we're fine," he assured her. "We just grabbed some juice from the little store dowtown." That is, if it could even be called _downtown_ - it was just a spread of little drugstores and homes and even a quaint little doctors' office. The entire layout and scenery of Clover, North Carolina, reminded him of something out of _Anne of Green Gables_ - it was total old America.

He glanced up at Jason, frowning when his best friend discreetly shook his head at him, warning him not to say anything else of the morning's events. He knew that Jason didn't want to needlessly worry the girls, but that mere fact worried _him_ in turn.

The morning had started out fine - both he and Jason rose with the sun and pulled on their swimming trunks and wifebeaters, digging their running sneakers out of their duffel bags. Coach always said that if they were on vacation, they should always take the opportunity to run on the beach; it strengthened the ankles and calves. So that was what he and Jason had finally done on their third day - second morning - in Clover, after being too tired the day before to get up until Brenda and Elizabeth were ramming down their door.

So they began their jog down the beach, chatting and joking as they always did. They had barely run half a mile before Jason was slowing down, biting back his groans as his feet hit the wet sand. Sonny stopped then, and made his best friend stop, too. Jason had plopped down on the sand, not minding the wetness as it clung to his blue trunks and began rubbing his calf muscles gently. When Sonny asked what was wrong, he replied that his legs were bothering him, and that it hurt to even run.

They stayed like that for about twenty minutes, Jason massaging his legs and Sonny trying to figure out what could possibly be wrong. Eventually, they decided it was probably fatigue and the lack of use - they hadn't been running since a week before Spring Break.

Finally, Jason stood up with Sonny's help, gingerly testing his legs. Sonny made him walk back and forth and Jason assured him that it didn't hurt at all. But when they started running again, the pain returned, and Sonny decided they should call it quits before Jason really hurt himself, despite Jason's protests that it was just because he was tired.

In the end, the boys ended up strolling in to town and buying some orange juice at _Marleen's Groceries and Ice Cream Parlor_. The shop was tidy and bright, with neat aisles of packaged goods down one side and a gleaming counter at the other, with polished silverware already laid out and glittering crystal ice cream glasses on display. There was a porch swing out front and pots of colorful flowers were spread out on the railing. All in all, it was a charming little shop and the boys had a very nice conversation with Marleen's son, George, and his two little boys, Emmitt and Brant.

When they left the little shop and walked past the beach, they noticed that Elizabeth and Brenda were already on their way down. That nixed any thought of breakfast in their minds and they hurriedly joined them, eager to spend another day out in the sun with the respective objects of their affection.

And although Jason had chased Elizabeth around on the sand for a while and joined in on a rousing game of net-less volleyball, Sonny was still worried. But the look on his best friend's face told him that Jason felt he was just fine, and for that Sonny was extremely glad, not to mention relieved.

"Anyway," Elizabeth's voice cut through his worries. "Let's have some lunch now - I don't care what you two say, I _know_ you've got to be starving. Brenda and I found the greatest little grocery store last night, and they have an ice cream parlor and everything, _plus_ they make the greatest sandwiches."

"Totally fresh, too," Brenda added with excitement. "They make 'em right in front of you, and even toast the bread right there. We would have tried it last night but it was kinda late and Beth has nightmares if she eats too close to bedtime. Isn't that right?" she asked, teasing Elizabeth, who just rolled her eyes in response.

"Nightmares?" Sonny repeated. "And how old are we, Beth - four?"

"Stuff it unless you want me to tell everyone the clown story."

"Yes, ma'am."

It didn't take long for the four of them to fold up their towels, grab their shoes and sun tan lotion and the volleyball and troop back to their hotel rooms. They dumped their junk in the girls' room and Brenda and Elizabeth disappeared to change into something decent as the boys ran up the stairs to their own room to grab some shorts that weren't permanently encased in sand.

Lunch was a simple affair - a soup-and-sandwich deal at _Marleen's_, washed down with a root beer float that each couple shared. A little bored with the beach, the foursome wandered around town for a bit, enjoying each other's company while scoping out some place of interest. They eventually wandered into a little arcade and spent an hour wacking moles and playing vintage Pac-man before meandering back into the sunlight.

Clover was an extremely clean town - almost no litter on the sidewalk or the streets. There were relatively few people in town, and those that _were_ there had a purpose. They either strode to the post office to pick up a package or hurried to the grocer's to pick up a quart of cold milk. No one loitered, no one wasted time, no one wandered around aimlessly. No one except the four teens, of course. They took in the sights as if they were in Paris, Elizabeth and Brenda pointing out the cute little park and the tallest building in town, which turned out to be the Clover Bank. They introduced the boys to the best bowling alley in North America, in their own opinion, and the little lake that the town used as an ice rink in the winter and a paddle-boat-pond in the summer.

They passed a small, old-fashioned cookie shop along the way, and the boys bought their respective girls a chocolate-chip cookie the approximate size of their face. The girls showed them the open and airy dancing hall where a small group of people were learning how to tango. They walked them past the Clover Fairgrounds, a large meadow with neatly trimmed grass and about twenty or so large tents that stood folded up by the shed.

Eventually, they found themselves back at the sea shore, staring not out at the infinite Atlantic, but instead at a series of what appeared to be lagoons and lakes. A narrow strip of land led out to a sprawling gazebo situated right on the water, the largest the boys had ever seen, cream in color and ornately carved with flowers and gingerbread trim. They gawked at the little bookstores that seemed as if they belonged in some English town in decades past, taking in the fancy bookends and handsome leather-bound collections inside.

But the church was their favorite - a modest little chapel sitting on a lush green lawn with majestic trees, delicate flowers, and strategically arranged stones, with the endless azure Atlantic stretched out behind.

The sun had long ago begun its slow descent across the sky, and it was when darkness crept in on its heels that the foursome decided to return to their hotel rooms to change before going out to dinner together. The girls knew of the perfect old-fashioned restaurant, complete with a dance floor all its own, and the boys were only too happy to agree to those plans.

Jason and Sonny raced each other up the stairs and into the room, both heading straight for the shower. Jason beat Sonny by a nose and quickly washed up as Sonny scrounged around for his dress pants and a nice shirt. He found Jason's too, folded and tucked way down in his duffel bag and ironed both outfits.

Jason came out in his boxers, his head bent over as he dried his hair and Sonny glanced at his watch and hurried to shower and change. The blonde finally put down the towel and, seeing that Sonny had ironed both of their outfits, put himself to use by hunting down their dress shoes. He found them, and after mulling over whether or not they were clean enough, he whipped out the complimentary shoe polish the hotel provided and rubbed both pairs down.

He hurriedly dressed himself, pulling on his black pants and a blue button-down collared shirt. It was the most formal thing he brought, and the funniest part was that it wasn't even that formal. But that was all right - small town restaurants like this didn't require suits and ties. Pants and a shirt were just fine.

Sonny came out of the bathroom and stared at his reflection in the mirror, trying to decide whether or not to apply gel to the already wild curls. He opted not to and quickly stepped into his tan pants and buttoned up his black half-sleeved dress shirt.

Both boys stood in front of the mirror on their dresser, running a comb quickly through their damp hair. Jason parted his in the middle like he always did, and his blonde hair fell down to his eyes at the temples. Sonny tried to comb his black curls but soon gave up, allowing them to fluff up like an afro and realizing that he had probably screwed himself over by not putting in gel when he had the chance.

With that done, the boys stepped into their dress shoes and laced them up, their fingers flying. A look at the clock told them that it had taken them both a total time of twenty seven minutes to get ready. But they were willing to bet that the girls downstairs still hadn't even picked out what they were going to wear.

The boys would have lost that bet - just as they were tying their shoes, Brenda and Elizabeth were both standing fully dressed in front of the mirror and applying their makeup. Both knew that nothing fancy was required tonight - after all, the boys had seen them with absolutely no makeup on for the last three days. Still, each girl secretly wanted to look nice for her respective partner.

Both Brenda and Elizabeth had packed an abundance of flowery summer dresses, every young man's secret weakness. Brenda wore a black-and-white dress that came down to her knees and had fluttery little quarter-sleeves. The dress itself was white was black trim at the shoulders and neck, and dainty little polka dots sprinkled all over it. Elizabeth wore a powder blue, sleeveless dress with little black straps that sat primly atop her shoulders, and with large periwinkle and indigo flowers splashed all over. The dress went in at the waist and flared out until just above the knee. For the first time, her dress was shorter than Brenda's!

Brenda applied her mascara before passing the tube to Elizabeth, who grimaced at it and put it down. Mascara usually made her eyes water, and she wasn't going to experiment in order to figure out if Brenda's was hypoallergenic. They both applied a light layer of blush and smoothed on some gloss before abandoning their faces and turning to their hair. Brenda just brushed hers out and let it hang over her shoulders, and then helped Elizabeth pin some of hers back and let the other part cascade down just above her shoulders.

Done, the girls stepped into their strappy sandals, turned off all lights and appliances, and left the room. They joined Sonny and Jason in the parking lot, where the boys had been waiting for about five minutes, much to their own surprise. Sonny immediately complimented Brenda on her appearance, but poor, stricken Jason could do little but numbly echo his best friend's remarks. Though a little uncomfortable and a little put off, Elizabeth just brushed off what she felt was his forced attempt to compliment her because he had to, and the foursome got into the green sedan the boys had rented and drove to the restaurant, arriving in a little over three minutes. The girls had assured them it would be fine to walk, but Sonny stubbornly refused. But what Brenda and Elizabeth mistook as his refusal to let them walk more than a block in heels was actually Sonny's worrying about Jason and his leg cramps.

The restaurant was full tonight, and the waiters hurried back and forth from the kitchen to their tables carrying steaming trays of pasta and meat. A live band played in the back and a few of the older couples danced to their smooth, jazzy sound. Brenda and Elizabeth had long ago explained to the boys that Clover wasn't really a young man's town. All the younger people fled as soon as they graduated to high school and headed for the bustling cities to join the rat race they'd dreamed of all their lives, far from the wholesome, calm sanctity of their hometown. The only people that stayed there were the couples with very young children, the families with kids a bit younger than them, and the older couples whose grandchildren were being raised in the big cities. For that reason, Jason and Sonny weren't surprised that the restaurant was filled with adults - no teenagers in sight.

Elizabeth was admiring the painting that hung in the make-shift lobby by the door, and Sonny was only too glad to see Jason saunter over to join her. It didn't matter that he was more concerned with smelling her hair than noting the artist's brush strokes - all that mattered was that he wasn't within hearing distance as he and Brenda requested a table.

"Hi," the clerk smiled down at Sonny. He was a tall man with gray hair that he wore slicked back, and small black spectacles. He loved seeing young people in Clover, and he knew Brenda and Elizabeth pretty well from their visits alone and with their families over the years. "Brenda, love, good to see you."

"Hey, Uncle Bert," Brenda grinned, setting a hand on the counter. Sonny knew by now not to be surprised when the girls called some of the townsfolk "Uncle" or "Aunt" - it seemed to be a common term of address. Most people that knew the two responded with familiar terms of endearment or their own nicknames, and Jason had burst out laughing when a little boy riding his tricycle in the park had yelled out "Lizard! Bear!" as soon as he saw the two girls. "Where are the Ringling Brothers when you need 'em?" he asked jokingly as Brenda and Elizabeth chattered away with little Ronnie.

"How've you been, dear?"

Brenda twisted a lock of hair around her fingers as she replied. "Fine, thanks. How about you? How's Aunt Florence?"

"She's better," Bert nodded. "Arthritis still kicks in sometimes, but it's better ever since she went to that homeopathic doctor in Asheville."

Brenda nodded. "That's good. I remember when we were here last time - she was in terrible shape. I'm glad she's better. And how are Todd and Paul?" she asked, referring to Bert's sons.

"Todd is about to graduate from Miami of Ohio," Bert replied, "and Paul is about to begin his fourth year in the military."

"Good for them," Brenda glowed, and Sonny didn't doubt her sincerity for a minute. "I'm very glad they're doing so well."

Bert beamed at her kind words. "Well, what can I do for you two kids today?"

"We need a table for four-"

"Actually," Sonny cut in, biting his lip as he studied Bert. "We were wondering if you could do us a favor."

Bert regarded him with a slight trace of suspicion. "What sort of favor?"

Sonny motioned discreetly to Jason and Elizabeth. "They're with us," he explained, "and I was wondering if it was possible for you to say that you don't have any more tables for four - like, they're all reserved or something - and that you have to seat us in two tables for two. Preferably not next to each other, either."

A smile tugged at Bert's lips. Apparently, Brenda's new man, as he assumed the dark-haired boy in front of him was, thought just like she did. "A little ambush, huh?"

Sonny grinned, showing his dimples. "Of sorts."

Bert glanced at Jason and Elizabeth, sniffing. "I think that can be arranged," he replied finally, his eyes twinkling. Yes, he _definitely_ loved it when youngsters stopped in. He knew the simple request wasn't as innocuous as it seemed, but he was only too happy to comply. "We have another band coming in, in about fifteen minutes or so," he supplied. "They play music more for your age, but they're all kids of some of my friends, so we book them here. Their faster songs are good, but their slow ones are better. Just keep that in mind."

Sonny grinned when Bert winked at him. "Thank you. Will do."

Jason and Elizabeth joined them at that moment, and Bert tipped his head politely at them, the very picture of innocence although Brenda could still see the mirth in his eyes. "Good evening, kids. Bethie, how are you doing, sweetheart?"

"Just fine, Uncle Bert," she responded, immediately grinning back.

"How's school?"

"Almost done, but going very well."

Bert smiled down at her. Under normal circumstances he would have complimented her on how lovely she looked, but he figured he had better leave that to the young man in her company. "Good. Now, if you four will wait for a few minutes, I'll see what we have in the way of seating arrangements."

Jason and Sonny nodded together as if on cue and Bert stepped away to speak to one of the hostesses. Within five minutes he was back, and Sonny swallowed his laughter at the mock look of regret and apology on the older man's face.

"I'm terribly sorry, children," he clucked. "But the only two remaining larger tables are reserved. We'll have to seat you in tables of two. I hope that is all right."

Jason sighed in slight irritation, but Sonny quickly spoke up. "It's fine," he pretended to assure a very apologetic Bert. "No problem."

Elizabeth and Brenda nodded in reassurance, and Sonny almost laughed at how Bert slowly perked up. "Ok, then," he smiled. "I'll show you to your tables."

Several adults looked up from their food as Bert walked by, four teenagers flanking him like ducklings. Some of them knew the girls and smiled in hello, and others were just amazed to see non-local children in Clover.

Bert seated Sonny and Brenda first, and then walked several paces away to seat Jason and Elizabeth that, although out of earshot, was still in direct view from Sonny and Brenda's seats.

Jason kept darting nervous glances at Sonny, and Brenda kept giggling over how scared he looked. Even Sonny couldn't help but laugh when Jason almost spilled his water all over himself because he jumped when Elizabeth leaned forward and whispered something to him.

After about ten minutes, a waiter came and took their orders, and then there was nothing left for them to do but wait for the food.

Even though he was on his first real date with Brenda, Sonny magnanimously conceded the entire evening to Jason. That is, he conceded his entire evening to Brenda's desire to watch Jason squirm. The two of them bent their heads toward each other and giggled at Jason's every move, careful to pretend to be engrossed in their own conversation when Jason looked to them for moral support.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, seemed perfectly calm. She smiled at Jason's jokes, performed in a combination of awkwardness and nerves, and placed her order with certainty, even helping Jason with his.

"What the heck is wrong with Jason?" Brenda whispered to Sonny, her eyes boring through the suddenly gawky blonde that sat across from her best friend.

In front of her, Sonny had absolutely no clue. "I have no idea," he muttered, staring at his friend with confusion. "He's never like this - look at him."

"I'm lookin', believe me," Brenda huffed. "And I don't like what I see. He's always so smooth around her - you saw him today when we were at the beach."

A new thought dawned on Sonny. "You know," he began, narrowing his eyes at the couple. "This is probably the first time that he's _really_ been alone with her."

Brenda quirked a brow at him, unconvinced. "What about New York?"

Sonny looked at her. "What about it? We were all together the whole time. We drove together, ate together, hung out _together_."

"What about when we went to that club? And they danced?"

"So what?" Sonny scoffed. "You were there, you remember what happened. Sure, they slow-danced; we all did. But we were all still talking and laughing the whole way through it. It wasn't even a real slow-dance - we were all still in one giant group and acting the same way."

Brenda paused, understanding what he meant. "OK, but what about when they go to lunch together?"

"Now, I don't really think that counts," Sonny began, tapping his glass as he mulled it over. "Think about it - what does going to lunch entail? A mad dash to the parking lot. A mad drive to the restaurant. You just go in, order, sit there for literally seven minutes while scarfing down as much food as you can - no time for civilizied conversation there - and then run back out to the car and hightail it to school, then run inside to beat the bell." He shook his head, convinced. "No, this has got to be the first time that they're sitting down and eating together in an environment like this."

"So you think he's nervous." It was a statement, not a question, and Brenda waited for Sonny's response.

"Definitely," was all he said, his eyes not moving from Jason and Elizabeth.

"Huh."

"He's scared out of his mind," Sonny continued, sipping his water. "Look at him - he's trying to figure out what type of atmosphere to create - a friendly one or a romantic one. The friendly one is hard because of where they are and what she's wearing." Brenda smirked. "And romantic is hard because he's never been romantic with her before. I mean, sure, he's done his fair share of flirting, or so he says, because that's debatable, but he's never been _romantic_. So now he has no clue what to do, and he's coming across as really awkward and weird."

Brenda nodded. "And I'm sorry to say it, but Beth doesn't look like she's enjoying this too much."

Sonny bobbed his head in agreement. "Because she's used to the confident, funny Jason that's always the first to tell her a story and make her laugh. She hasn't seen the nervous Jason. And if she has, she didn't know it-"

"Because she was too busy being nervous herself," Brenda finished.

"Exactly."

"So, basically, what this all comes down to," Brenda mused, cocking her head to the side. "Is that those two are incurable idiots."

"Exactly."

Brenda slid him a sidelong glance, amusement kicking up the corners of her mouth. "And what about you, _Don_? Are _you_ nervous?"

The question came totally unexpectedly and Sonny almost choked on his water. "Me?" he managed to sputter, looking at her with what he hoped was a look of incredulity.

"Yes, you," Brenda replied, regarding him with a bemused smirk. "Are you nervous?"

"Never," he replied, bringing out the dimples to reinforce his lie.

"Are you sure?" Brenda wheedled, leaning forward and smoothing a hand down his bare arm. "Because, you know, this _is_ our first date."

"I-I'm aware."

Brenda hid her grin at his hitched voice. He was nervous, all right. "And you're not nervous that you'll say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing and I'll suddenly decide you're not the one for me?"

Her voice was light and teasing, but her question put an end to Sonny's brave facade. When she looked up and saw how seriously he was regarding her, the mocking smirk slipped off her face. Her hand stopped caressing his arm, and suddenly, the indomitable Brenda Barrett felt like a ridiculous, self-conscious ninny.

Sonny pulled his hand back enough to gently clasp her hand. "I'm always nervous that I'll say or do something to put you off," he admitted in a low voice. He refused to look her in the eye, choosing instead to eye her silver ring which he was fingering. "It just comes with the territory, I guess, as the phrase goes. Not to imply that you're my territory or anything," he assured her hastily. "But if I give in to those nerves, we'll never get anywhere. And I don't want that."

He looked up at her then, his eyes laced with resolution. "I want to be myself with you, Barrett. And I want the same from you. It's not worth it if we have to pretend around each other. That's not the sort of relationship I want with you."

Brenda's eyes softened and she stroked his knuckles with her thumb. "Me neither."

They sat in silence for a moment until a light appeared in Brenda's eyes. "Come on - let's dance until our food gets here."

Sonny grinned and allowed her to pull him out of his chair. Their hands still clasped, they made their way to Jason and Elizabeth's table.

"Hey, you two," Brenda beamed. "Come on, the band's playing. Let's dance."

"Uh," Jason looked at her, unsure. But then it occurred to him that it was either talking to Sonny and Brenda on the dance floor or staying here in the Land of Terribly Boring and Awkward Small Talk. "Would you like to?"

Elizabeth blinked at him. "Um, sure," she replied, a smile slowly blossoming on her lips.

He grabbed her hand lightly and led her out onto the wooden dance floor with Sonny and Brenda. The new band was playing, a group of mop-haired blonde kids probably their own age. Jason had to admit that they had a good sound - though loud, it was energetic and bright, and contained no profanity.

They'd just started a fast number and the dance floor was clear except for two other brave couples who, though not youngsters by any measure, moved well to the quick beat.

Sonny and Brenda found a spot and after looking at each other for a moment, just shrugged their shoulders and began dancing. Jason led Elizabeth next to them and they also began dancing to the lively song.

_She plays guitar with her fingertips  
She'll play your heart with her tender lips  
She'll work it out until she makes the tips  
And it's all right, yeah, it's all right_

Elizabeth was laughing now, clearly enjoying the song and Sonny's wacky dance moves. Jason grinned at the sound and watching his best friend, he felt his own self-consciousness bleed away.

_Holding her tight in late December  
I look in the stars and I remember  
She doesn't mind when you offend her  
And it's all right, yeah, it's all right_

The adults that were seated on the outskirts of the floor were laughing now at the four endearing teenagers that instantly took command of the floor. Elizabeth looked up and saw even the band grinning at them, their fingers flying over their instruments. It was like a race - their dancing and the band's music. And it was exhilarating.

Jason grinned down at her and she danced closer, spinning around him with his hand gently guiding her.

_Just a girl like you, and maybe just a  
Just a guy like me, maybe we  
Could take a walk on the wild side  
Take a look and take a look and go  
Get up and go_

They'd started a sensation. The adults were clapping now, energetically, in perfect rhythm with the beat. Even the waiters would glance at them and smile as they hurried back and forth from the kitchen like little ants. The clapping grew louder and soon other people were straining around to see what all the commotion was about.

_What could I give when you've got all you need  
And she looks at me like all I want's a little free  
Every time I'm here with you, you make me see  
That it's all right, yeah, it's all right_

Jason's face was close to hers now. His nose touched hers lightly as they moved, his warm breath wandering over her cheeks and mingling with hers.

_We'll get away  
Be in love  
We can make it better  
All I need's a little time for us to get together  
Happiness is just a step away  
Well it's all right, yeah, it's all right_

Bert was smiling wickedly now at the four kids on the floor. Bethie seemed to be having a great time, thanks to the coordinated gentleman at her side. He wasn't sure if her father would appreciate how close the boy's movements were to her body, but she didn't seem to mind at all.

_Just a girl like you, and maybe just a  
Just a guy like me, maybe we  
Could take a walk on the wild side  
Take a look and take a look and go  
Get up and go  
Get up and go  
Ooh oh, ooh oh, won't you go?  
Ooh oh, ooh oh, get up and go  
Ooh oh, ooh oh, won't you go?_

Now his arms were at her waist and her hands were on his wide shoulders. Her hair tickled his nose when he spun her. She was laughing freely now, her eyes dancing as their bodies moved to the vibrant sounds of the piano, drums, and guitar. The band began to sing louder, their enthusiasm regarding their four dancers evident in their voices. Brenda winked at Sonny, who returned a toothy grin. Things were going exactly as planned.

_Take a look and, take a look and go  
Seems like love has always found a way  
But there's only so many hours in the day  
All that I know is that you're here with me  
And it's all right, yeah, it's all right_

He spun her again, his hands boldly claiming her narrow waist as their own. Her fingers squeezed his biceps through his blue shirt for an all-too-brief instant before relaxing. Looking into her eyes, Jason's heart almost stopped at the sheer joy he saw reflected within. She was having a good time. With _him_.

And that was all he needed.

Elizabeth watched him look down at her as they danced, and unconsciously captured her bottom lip between her teeth. What was he so anxiously searching for in her eyes?

She knew. And she showed him what he was looking for - showed him that she was so unbelievably happy to be able to share this moment with him. And as he gradually comprehended the meaning in her eyes, she could feel the self-consciousness that settled over him like fog just evaporate.

_Won't you tell me that you need me so bad  
'Cause you are everything I've never had  
Every time I look at you it hurts so bad  
And it's all right, yeah, it's all right_

Yeah, it was all right. All of it. Her. Him. This.

The music swirled around them, enveloping them. No room for conversation. No room for words or thoughts. There was just the music - the tinkling piano, loud and powerful, delicate and teasing. The drums, rich and sonorous. The guitar, soothing and tying everything together. Just this dance floor, just the flash of blue from his shirt as he spun her around, just her hair sticking in her gloss, just the lightest tickle of his thumb on her cheek as he brushed it back.

Just this.

Fast. Lively. Energetic. Bright.

Just them.

_Just a girl like you, and maybe just a  
Just a guy like me, maybe we  
Could take a walk on the wild side  
Take a look and take a look and go  
Get up and go_

The music faded away, despite the band's efforts to prolong it. They grinned out at their four most enthusiastic dancers, their eyes full of appreciation. It wasn't often that they got such an energetic welcome.

But the foursome didn't even notice. Brenda and Sonny were still exchanging secret glances and smiles, biting their lips and wiggling their eyebrows at their friends. Jason and Elizabeth were catching their breath as the adults applauded, and Sonny could see that the tension was no longer there.

"It worked," he mouthed to Brenda, who lightly clapped her hands together.

"Well, that was fun," Sonny spoke up, smiling at his friends. "The band's really good."

Elizabeth nodded in agreement, flushing when she heard her name being yelled from somewhere out in the audience. "Yeah, they are. And they're so young, too."

"Speaking of the band," Brenda announced, spinning on her heel and winking at Sonny before sauntering away. "I'm going to go hit on them."

Jason snickered and turned to Sonny, who was just rolling his eyes in response.

Brenda quickened her steps and was soon at the stage. The boys had been watching her walk up to them and smiled warmly.

Sonny watched out of the corner of his eye as Brenda engaged them in some friendly chit chat before discreetly pointing in their direction. The band stared over until she hissed at them not to make it look so obvious, and when they nodded enthusiastically, Sonny knew Brenda had won them over to supporting the cause.

She walked back quickly, a dazzling smile on her face, and linked arms with him. Bert pointed to the two waiters that were headed to each couples' table and the dancers followed them back to their seats, modestly accepting compliments from their viewers.

Dinner went by rather quickly. Sonny and Brenda watched Jason and Elizabeth make comfortable conversation and then relaxed into their own dinner, content to leave the other two alone and enjoy their own first date. Brenda kept teasing Sonny throughout dinner, and every once in a while, Elizabeth's tinkling laughter could be heard as Jason entertained her with one of his anecdotes.

Eventually, the waiters cleared away the dishes and brought out dessert. When that was done, Jason looked over at Sonny, who cocked his head in the direction of the dance floor again. Jason nodded back, looking hopefully at Elizabeth, who had watched the exchange and was only too happy to offer him her hand.

Sonny and Brenda were the first to reach the floor, and Elizabeth smiled when Brenda fixed Sonny's collar before stepping into his arms. The band was exchanging mischievous smiles as they played the opening notes, and Elizabeth wondered what in the world they found so funny.

Jason looked down at his flushed companion, one eyebrow raised in question. His lips curved slowly upward when she placed one hand in his and placed the other one at his nape, stepping into him and allowing his arm to wrap around her waist.

The song, while slower than the first, was still filled with energy and Brenda smiled at the band in gratitude as they began to sing.

_Won't deny everything can't last  
But it's closing in so fast_

Jason cleared his throat softly when Elizabeth's fingers gently stroked the light hairs at his nape. His hand tightened around hers as he led her through the dance.

_Thought that I'd figured it out at last  
But you can't change the past  
And it's closing in so fast_

Jason's broad hand flattened against the base of her spine, sending warm tingles all through her body. The notes of the song rose in a graceful crescendo and Elizabeth closed her eyes, her temple touching Jason's chin.

_Feels just like we're dancin' in the wind  
Feeling just all right  
When we're dancin' in the wind  
We can dance all night_

Jason felt her sigh, lightly, daintily. Her hand smoothed down his neck, coming to a rest on his broad shoulder. She fingered the cotton of his blue shirt and shifted slightly, resting her cheek against his chest as they swayed to the music.

_Just don't walk away  
When I've got you in my arms tonight  
And I've got something to say  
There are still rules to break  
And this music is a place to hide  
Isn't it just a game we play?_

But the game was over. She was in his arms and he was holding her tight. There were no more games. There was only the music, floating airily about them.

_Feels just like we're dancin' in the wind  
Feeling just all right  
When we're dancin' in the wind  
We can dance all night  
We can dance all night  
We can dance all night_

Her arms looped around his neck. His hands clasped gently at the small of her back and he pulled her closer. She didn't need much coaxing.

_When we're dancin' in the wind  
We can dance all night  
Feels just like we're dancin' in the wind  
Feeling just all right  
When we're dancin' in the wind  
We can dance all night  
We can dance all night  
We can dance all night  
When we're dancin' in the wind  
We can dance all night  
We can dance all night  
When we're dancin' in the wind  
We can dance all night_

He pulled away reluctantly, missing the warmth her small body provided almost immediately. The feeling he had just experienced had been incredible, and he was sad to see it end. Slow-dancing in New York - though memorable in its own right as their first official dance - had been nothing compared to this. For one thing, at least Kyle and Johnny hadn't been making weird noises the whole time.

Brenda decided she was tired and that it would be a good time to head on out, and so the group paid at the desk, said goodnight to "Uncle Bert" and drove back to the hotel. Upon arrival, all four of them headed into the girls' room.

Sonny waited before Elizabeth was in the bathroom and Jason was checking his messages safely out of earshot before leaning closer to Brenda and hissing, "What was that about? They were just getting somewhere."

She wiggled her eyebrows wic

kedly at him. "Don't worry - it's not over," she promised. "Just wait and see."

Elizabeth stepped out of the bathroom, having scrubbed off her makeup and taking out her hair pins, and stepped into her comfortable brown leather flip-flops, announcing that she felt like going for a walk. Jason was only too happy to comply and the two soon left the room, leaving behind an amazed Sonny and an openly smug Brenda.

The night was warm and the stars illuminated the landscape as Jason and Elizabeth stepped out in to the parking lot.

"Where to?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. The air - though warm - carried a hint of coolness and she found herself wondering if she should have brought a light sweater of some sort. Deciding against it, she matched her steps with Jason as they slowly left the parking lot.

"I've actually been wanting to check out that huge gazebo," he admitted, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Elizabeth smiled. "I love that place," she sighed. "And we're in luck - I know a shortcut to it."

She led them down a narrow dirt road that curved off into a meadow, and Jason found himself in awe over how utterly amazing the earth - the pure earth - looked under a blanket of starlight and darkness. It was so different from back home. Port Charles, though still a small town by most standards, was bustling and loud even at night.

But here, there were hardly any cars to be heard at the moment. The only music in the air was from the dancing hall, and that faded away as they walked. He spied the ocean in the distance and sighed.

"What?" Elizabeth smirked, looking up at him. He hadn't realized that she had been watching him the whole time.

He shrugged. "This is just so amazing, that's all. I've never been anywhere like it. I mean, just listen." He spun around once, arms outstretched. "Listen!"

"I'm listening," she laughed, enjoying the look of pure pleasure on his face.

"There's nothing to hear!" he burst out, his arms still outstretched. "No cars, no people, no nothing! Just the frogs and the crickets."

"Cicadas, actually," she smiled. "But you're right, it _is_ really quiet and peaceful down here. I can't believe that none of the kids our age want to stay."

"Their loss," Jason huffed. "This place rocks my face off."

Elizabeth chuckled. "I'm with you on that one."

Their dirt road curved out from the meadow and Jason soon found himself staring at the gazebo. But it was even more breathtaking than he had remembered. Striking in the daytime, it was glorious in the nightime. White lights were strung all around the top and the railing, providing a wonderful contrast against the dark sky and even darker ocean. Lights at the base illuminated the entire structure, making the cream paint glow.

"Wow."

"Isn't it amazing?" Elizabeth beamed. "And check it out - there's this little thicket right over there - see it? I meant to show you earlier, but I forgot. And there are these hedges that if you pass under them, it'll take you right back to the gazebo!"

Jason followed her down the road to the overgrown patch of forest that she was referring to. He began to hear shrill laughter somewhere behind him, but he paid little attention to it as they neared their destination. Elizabeth grabbed his hand and pulled him under the foliage. After a minute of cursing the branches as they rasped against his shirt, Jason found himself in a little cave formed completely by small, lush trees and bushes.

"Woah - weird."

"Something right out of Bambi," Elizabeth supplied. "Last time we came, Brenda and I just spread a quilt out right here and lay down. We must have stayed here until three or four in the morning, just talking and looking at the stars."

Jason looked up where she had motioned, and his breath almost caught in his throat. "The stars are so close here," he muttered, letting out a low whistle. "I've never seen anything like it."

"The moon, too," Elizabeth added, pointing up at the giant glowing crescent. "The most important part."

Jason looked down at her as she spoke, taking in the way the moonlight cascaded over her delicate feminine features, illuminating her beautiful face. His eyes were on her, not the moon, when she continued.

" 'There is something haunting in the light of the moon; it has all the dispassionateness of a disembodied soul, and something of its inconceivable mystery'. Joseph Conrad said that, and sometimes, I almost understand what he meant." She looked at him then, surprised to see him looking back at her instead of at the sky. She blinked twice, but his gaze never wavered. "Jason?" Her voice was nervous now, and she licked her lips. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

He stepped closer to her, slowly, like a cat, the vegetation making no sound under his Jesus sandals.

She bit her lip as he loomed above her, his eyes bright in the moonlight. But nothing prepared her for what he said next.

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?"

The words, and the sandpaper voice he used to voice them, made her go weak at the knees. Surely, she was hallucinating. Jason Morgan didn't _really_ just say that to her, did he?

She didn't have the time or the functioning brain cells to ask him to repeat his question because she was sure she misheard him - he didn't really just say that, did he? Because Jason just kept getting closer, his nose just by hers.

She looked into his eyes, swallowing. She knew what happened next - it was always like this in the movies.

Jason's large hand hovered in the air before he slowly raised it to her face, cupping her cheek. His fingers brushed the shell of her ear, fluttering over her hair, his touch feather-light. His breath, warm and smelling of the ginger-tea toothpicks he always kept handy, washed over her lips and mingled with her own suddenly rapid breaths.

The side of his nose touched hers then, and Elizabeth's large eyes fluttered closed on a sigh. That was all the opportunity Jason needed, because another hand soon found her waist, resting lightly on it as he pulled her closer and brushed his lips against hers.

She leaned into him, her hands half-raised in the air, her eyes still closed. His lips pressed against hers this time, firmer, more certain. They were warm and wet and caressed hers, and she instantly found herself responding, giving in to the urge that had subconsciously been eating away at her for months.

He grew bolder, flattening his hand at the small of her back and pulling her into him. The hand on her cheek retreated to her nape and he angled her head back, kissing her harder and biting back a moan when she responded. She gasped when she felt his tongue press against her lips, and Jason seized the moment, his tongue slithering in to mate with hers.

She didn't know what to do at first, but as he became more demanding, she found herself becoming more aggressive as well. Her hands, formerly resting lightly on his waistband, now traveled up his back. She speared her fingers through his silky blonde hair, letting it slip easily through them.

His tongue explored the recesses of her mouth while drinking her in, while his fingers played through her hair. Elizabeth pressed a hand to his cheek as he ravaged her mouth, urging him not to stop. What happened to the calm, demure, even prudent Elizabeth, she didn't know. And she didn't want to, because the Elizabeth that was in Jason Morgan's arms at the moment knew exactly what she wanted, and for once, wasn't too afraid to go after it. And what's more, she was getting it.

She heard some crashing noise in the background, but forgot about it as soon as she heard the primal growl that escaped Jason's lips. Her grandfather's voice ran through her head, and she fought with all her might to repress it. _"Your lips get enough strain talking on the telephone and don't need to be subjected to the stress of having some boy's mouth pressed against them. Furthermore, kissing has unpredictable effects on the male brain and often sends random signals to his hands._"

Jason pulled away slightly, long enough for both of them to gasp in some oxygen before swapping spit all over again.

Elizabeth was dimly aware of more noise in the background, but was unable to focus on it as Jason's tongue continued to duel with hers. But this time, the noise wasn't as far away as she had anticipated and hoped.

Elizabeth nearly jumped three feet in the air when the sanctity of their little thicket was broken by several flashlights and men in dark uniforms, one of whom was holding a megaphone.

"_Freeze_! Stop where you are and put your hands in the air!"


	8. Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay

**Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay**

Elizabeth awoke early, after only a few hours of sleep. Slowly, trying not to wake Brenda - although, surely, such precautions weren't necessary as her best friend could sleep through a hailstorm and once did just that - Elizabeth crept into the bathroom. She hung her denim shorts and t-shirt from the door handle, dropping her underwear and bra on the door knob. The tank top and cotton shorts she used as pajamas were discarded onto the bathroom floor and she stepped into the hot shower, the steam enveloping her like a blanket.

She stood still a moment, just letting the water cascade over her tired and aching muscles. Her mind, still foggy from a lack of sleep, was slowly waking up now under the scalding spray.

Elizabeth rubbed her neck gently, trying to undo the tight knots she found there. Her back was sore, too, and she reminded herself to dig out some Tylenol from the dashboard of Mr. Barrett's Lexus.

Last night had been pure Hell.

Spending three and a half hours in the holding cell at the Clover County Jailhouse with a very irate Jason was not her idea of a relaxing vacation.

The shower roared around her and Elizabeth bent her head back, moaning softly when her neck muscles protested bitterly.

Her father was going to kill her if he ever found out. The world would be short one Elizabeth Imogene Webber.

The night had been a rollercoaster, as it turned out. The evening around town was wonderful - she had a great time with her friends. Dinner started out horrendously but ended marvelously, and when Jason had finally kissed her in the thicket, she could have sworn she'd died and gone to heaven.

And what a kiss! She blushed at the memory, quickly swiping her hair back from her face and reaching for the shampoo. After more than two months - ever since they began talking - of tiptoeing around her, Jason had finally kissed her. She had originally worried that he would just peck her on the lips and pull back immediately, making sure she was okay with it and treating her like a little doll and absolutely infuriating her in the process.

But no. Not at all.

He'd frenched her. Mauled her.

And she'd be lying if she said she hadn't loved every delicious minute of it.

But the horror began when four rookie cops broke into the thicket and aimed large flashlights at them, demanding that they freeze and put their hands in the air. When Jason stepped in front of her to shield her from the glaring light, they'd barked at him to move and then physically pushed him out of the way.

They'd been brought to the jailhouse almost immediately, the cops spouting something about robbery and indecent conduct. As it turned out, the teenagers they had seen earlier had apparently stolen a copious amount of liquor from their fathers' supply cabinet, and empty bottles and cans of said liquor had been found near the thicket where she and Jason were. When the officers heard movement inside the foliage enclosure, they'd barged in first and asked questions later.

Despite her and Jason's protests that they had nothing to do with such activities, they had been made to wait in the jailhouse as the officers tried to sort things out. Apparently, their commanding officer was having some family emergency and had left them in charge, further adding to Elizabeth's aggravation. She knew Lieutenant Sherman - she had helped jump his car the last time she was here. He was a wonderful man and knew both her and Brenda from their many visits, and if he had been present, the whole matter would have been cleared up in an instant.

But that was not so. Instead, the cops seated her and Jason on the wooden bench and ran around like chickens with their heads cut off as they also tried to manage the other business at hand. When much time had passed, Jason grew increasingly impatient. His harsh words and irate behavior convinced the cops he was one of those typical adolescent delinquents and they tossed the two of them in a holding cell.

This further enraged Jason, and the tall blonde spent the next two hours pacing furiously and muttering obscenities under his breath. Elizabeth sat silently on the makeshift bed, just watching him. Her lips were still swollen from his assault, and his hair was still mussed and unruly from hers.

At long last one of the cops came over and Jason demanded a phone call, which he received. In literally ten minutes, a disheveled and frantic Sonny and Brenda showed up at the jailhouse. They'd brought all the necessary identification that both Jason and Elizabeth had conveniently left in their room, and vouched for their friends' innocence. Their alibi seemed strong, and only one phone call told the cops that the foursome had indeed been at the _Four Leaf Clover Restaurant and Bar_ all evening.

She and Jason had been released immediately amidst a hurricane of apologies. Elizabeth had nodded politely but when she opened her mouth to speak, Jason simply grabbed her hand and blustered out of there, Sonny and Brenda struggling to keep up.

On the walk back to the hotel, Jason didn't say a word, choosing instead to huff indignantly and glare at anything that moved. Sonny already had several jokes on hand about indecent conduct and there being really strict laws about not getting it on in the bushes, but the lethal glint in Jason's eyes and the humiliated set of Elizabeth's shoulders kept him quiet.

Brenda walked quickly next to him, her arm linked with his. She sighed periodically, looking more at Elizabeth than Jason, and Sonny knew she was worried about her best friend. He was too, for that matter - not about Jason, but about the petite brunette whose hand was still held hostage by his. Jason was a strong kid, he knew that. He seemed only angered by their little stint in a holding cell, but Sonny had to wonder what was going on through Elizabeth's mind. Hopefully, her brief career as a criminal hadn't scarred the little honor student for good.

They'd gone back to their hotel rooms, and Jason only mumbled goodbye to Elizabeth before turning his back on her and ascending the stairs to his room, taking them two at a time. Sonny quickly kissed Brenda and reassuringly squeezed Elizabeth's shoulder before running up himself.

Elizabeth lathered her hair, taking her time. The suds covered her small hands, making them look like giant blobs of foam. She piled her hair atop her head, her fingers massaging her scalp as the water pounded over her shoulder blades. The steam began to clog her throat slightly, but she didn't mind.

When she had trudged into their room, Brenda had quickly shut the door, kicked off her shoes and pulled Elizabeth to the bed. Predictably, she demanded to know what had happened, and before long, Elizabeth felt herself pouring out the entire story.

Brenda jumped up and down with glee upon hearing how _Jason_ was the one to man-handle _her_, and kept saying over and over how romantic it was. Elizabeth said she'd change her tune if _she_ had the living daylights scared out of her by four cops while she was swapping spit with the resident god.

They'd stayed up for hours talking about the events of the evening. Brenda quickly hurried through what transpired between her and the _Don_ before eagerly turning the conversation back to Jason and Elizabeth. She told her best friend that Sonny suspected Jason was nervous, and Elizabeth begrudgingly agreed, still frustrated that he didn't feel comfortable around her despite all the time they spent together.

The suds from the shampoo cascaded down her back and Elizabeth nodded to herself. After all, what was the use if he still walked on eggshells around her? What had they really accomplished then?

Brenda repeated what Sonny said about a friendly atmosphere and a romantic one, but Elizabeth was too tired to listen. She apologized repeatedly to her friend for dragging her out in the middle of the night before realizing that Brenda hadn't said what she and Sonny had been doing ever since she and Jason left. Brenda shrugged in what she hoped was a nonchalant manner and replied that they just walked over to the beach and sat and talked for a while.

Then she, too, announced that it was late, effectively putting an end to the barrage of questions Elizabeth was already preparing. Though resenting her silence, Elizabeth could do little but yawn as she pulled on her tank and shorts, falling asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

She finished scrubbing the rest of her body with the complimentary loofah the _Dancing Crab_ supplied. The thing that perplexed her the most was Jason's odd behavior. Before, he was always so free around her, never the least bit uncomfortable. He teased her about her height, listened intently as she rambled, even chased her around and threatened to throw her over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes. Brenda told her such behavior from boys was completely natural. And then when he came to Clover, she knew he was genuinely happy with the prospect of spending his spring break with her instead of getting drunk and hooking up with a different girl every night on the beaches of Mexico. They'd spent so many hours just sitting and talking on the beach, playing volleyball, swimming, and he'd even rubbed sunscreen all over her body every morning. But then he froze up during dinner at the _Four-Leaf_, ignited the night in the little thicket by the gazebo, only to turn sour and sullen after their little brush in with the long arm of the law. He hadn't even kissed her goodnight, even though he'd wrapped his tongue around hers not four hours earlier!

_Boys_, she huffed. _Dad was right - there's no such thing as a nice teenage boy. But then again, he might be just a little bit biased._

She turned the water off and wrapped the large, fluffy green towel around herself. She quickly dried her hair, twisting it into a knot to keep it out of her face as she dried the rest of her body and changed. She donned her undergarments, threw the towel over the rail of the tub, and pulled on her favorite denim shorts and small white _Herman's Hermits_ t-shirt.

In a flash, she was out of the bathroom, grabbing her hemp necklace - the blue one, of course - from the dresser along with her purse. She let down her hair and brushed it out. It was almost dry and she pulled it into two pigtails tied just under her ear. It took her only a minute to locate her brown leather flip-flops from the night before and she slowly slipped out of the hotel room, leaving a quick note for Brenda to find on the dresser.

The morning was crisp and hazy as the sunlight chased away the darkness. The moon was still visible, a ghostly crescent against the powder blue. But that would change within minutes. Mornings always arrived quickly in Clover, jumping in to the soft sky as if they were just waiting for the right moment to pop out and scare away the darkness.

She walked quickly away from the hotel, eager to put some distance between herself and it. Because if Brenda awoke, she'd just jump out of bed and chase her down, and as much as Elizabeth loved her best friend, she just needed some time alone this morning.

The gravel crunched underneath her thin flip-flops as she made her way down the dirt road shortcut to town. The morning smelled like cantaloupe, as it always did. The grass was thick and wet with dew, which was glistening like pearls in the weak morning sunlight.

She passed the doctors' office and the pottery store where a cat-shaped cookie jar watched her with giant green eyes. Next was the antique store, filled to capacity with paintings and furniture and old jewelry. _Marleen's_ was across the street, and faint movement inside told her that George and the boys were almost ready to open it for the day. Shops in the town always opened at the arrival of the first strong rays of the sun. Emmitt ran outside to change the sign from Closed to Open, and smiled brightly at her as she walked past. She waved, grinning, and he scurried back inside to help his mom and dad.

Next came one of her favorite shops in Clover - _Dot's Trinkets._ It was a charming little store with soft green shades over the bay windows and clean white trim all around. A silver wind chime always hung in the front, decked out with colorful beads and exotic feathers, promising surprises and wonders inside.

Dorothy Lanata - or Dot, as she liked to be called - had opened the shop many decades ago, and Elizabeth loved to spend time with the spirited elderly Italian lady. She was short, even shorter than Elizabeth was, and kept her white hair styled in a cute little boycott. She always wore pastel colors - soft greens, pinks, yellows - with capris and leather sandals. But Dot's jewelry was the most sensational part of her outfit - just as unique as she was. Her earrings ranged from brightly colored paperclips to peacock feathers, and her bracelets were glittering rhinestones and gold links. Her necklaces were Elizabeth's favorite - everything from hemp to silver and emeralds to simple beads.

Dot was the one that had gotten Elizabeth started with hemp necklaces. She'd noticed the young girl one summer night when her parents were dancing at the Clover Fair, and Elizabeth had run away because she was bored. Pretty soon, she had her seated on the curb in front of the store and they were talking about her favorite hobbies and colors and school subjects. Elizabeth wanted to know more about the store - what did she sell? What were some of the trinkets for? And before long, Dot had pulled out the hemp Elizabeth pointed questioningly to and shown the ten-year old how to weave it together into a necklace, adding as many beads or stones or feathers as she wanted.

That was the first time Elizabeth explored the shop. She found rolls upon rolls of hemp, as many bundles of yarn as there were colors under the sun, a startling array of beads and gemstones and feathers, and hundreds of other items that had made her eyes widen.

She had visited Dot every single time she came to Clover ever since then. She'd always stop in to buy more hemp and beads - even if she didn't need them - and she and Dot would talk about everything the old woman could think of. Was school going well? How was Pre-Calculus going, with that teacher she hated so much? Did Sonny win the Student Union election? How was Lauren - er, make that Petey's - softball season going? Was she being scouted yet? How were Ms. Bedford and all the other editors? Was her sister doing well in college? Were her parents still at General Hospital? Oh, they switched over to Mercy? The two of them chatted for hours as customers drifted in and out of Dot's little store, smiling at the sight of an elderly lady prattling on behind the counter and the charming young woman who hung on to her every word.

Dot had the best collection of beads the whole world over, and Elizabeth sometimes spent hours mulling over them all, not noticing how Dot would lean against the counter behind her and just watch, a soft smile on her face. There were some really incredible beads - beads with letters etched onto them, tye-dyed Christian crosses, beads that were melted to form peace signs and yin-yangs and even the Porsche logo, which she had gotten to make a necklace for Brenda with. There were smiley faces and two-dimensional models of old cars and airplanes, even Pac-man beads.

Dot smiled when Elizabeth stepped in to the store, instantly abandoning her cash register and running over to swoop the young woman into a hug.

"Honey, it's so good to see you again," she beamed, tucking loose strands of Elizabeth's hair behind her ears and gently smoothing her fingers through the pigtails. "You look wonderful, darling - how is everything?"

"Well, not much has changed since three days ago," Elizabeth grinned, shaking her head slightly.

Dot laughed and spun around to link elbows with her. "You know what I mean, Ellie, and don't pretend you don't."

Ellie was the name of Dot's childhood best friend, and she always called Elizabeth by that name. And the young woman had no complaints - she loved that name with all its charm and wholesome elegance.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Dot," Elizabeth lied, batting her eyelashes innocently.

This earned her a hard, skeptical glare from the shorter woman. "Poppycock," she spit out. This was followed by a sigh and a wistful shake of her head. "I don't suppose you need me to spell it out for you? Well, if I must, I must."

Elizabeth bit her lip as the glittering cornflower blue eyes met her own.

"But I'll ask you again - how is everything?"

There was a pause as Elizabeth blinked, thinking of how best to answer. "Fine," she smiled genially, with a quick shrug of her shoulders.

This was not the answer Dot wanted. "I mean, how is everything with that gorgeous blonde hunk that's attached himself to your hip?"

Elizabeth's jaw dropped open. "Dot!" she cried, unable to stop the laughter that bubbled up when Dot's blue eyes sparkled mischievously. "You - you can't say that!"

"Why not?" Dot shrugged, winking devilishly at her younger friend. "Honey, when you're my age, you can say whatever you want about whoever you want, and I will say this - that boy has a _nice_ caboose."

"WHAT!" Elizabeth exclaimed, her face flushing. She spun around instantly, covering her eyes with her hand and unable to believe what she had just heard. "Wha - Oh, my god - you - you can't - oh, boy."

"You agree," Dot asserted with a sinister smile. "Don't pretend you don't, because your reaction argues otherwise."

Elizabeth just shook her head in disbelief and denial, her eyes not moving from the older woman, causing Dot to chuckle.

"Oh, honey, I wasn't born yesterday," she clucked as they walked over to the counter. "I may not be a spring chicken, but I'm still familiar with the sight of young love."

Elizabeth snorted, rolling her eyes. "_Love_. Riiiiiiiiight."

"You know what I mean," Dot responded, waving her hand. She picked up a comb from under the countertop and brushed her white hair before putting it back in its place. Elizabeth waited as she moved out from behind it and dropped her purse on it as they moved to the bead aisle. All their best conversations took place in the aisle full of glittering metal and plastic.

"So tell me about this boy," Dot insisted. "You said his name was Jason?"

"Mm-hmm," Elizabeth nodded as she trailed her fingers lightly over the sparkly square beads that reminded her of puddles of rainbow-tinted oil on the black pavement. "Jason Morgan."

"Morgan," Dot repeated, leaning a shoulder against the corner of the aisle. "Oh, that's right. So tell me more about him - we hardly got any time to talk before. Brenda sure was anxious to get you to the beach."

Elizabeth nodded. "That was where he and Sonny showed up," she informed Dot, who already had an idea of what had happened. "They flew down here to surprise us and spend spring break with us."

"I assumed that much," Dot nodded, a sinister sense of amusement kicking up the corners of her _Gingerbread Spicy_ painted lips. "Especially when I saw you two dancing at the _Four Leaf_."

With a gasp, Elizabeth spun around. Dot almost laughed at the look on her face. "You saw that?"

"I was there, honey," she replied in a voice as smooth as honey. "I had a good seat, too."

Blood flooded Elizabeth's face, coloring it a deep shade of red. "Oh."

Dot's grin grew. "He's quite the dancer."

Elizabeth nodded and turned away, unable to look the older woman in the eye. Dot watched her from a distance, her eyes softening and the mischievous gleam in them disappearing. She stepped closer, a pace away from Elizabeth now, and when she spoke her voice was gentle and had lost its playful and teasing tone.

"Honey, I can see you have something on your mind - something about Jason. You know that you can always talk to me about it."

Elizabeth drew in a deep breath, slowly turning around. Dot's eyes were kind and patient, and she found her resolve weakening. "It's kind of a long and confusing story," she admitted. "And I don't even think I know how to tell it."

"But those are the best kind of stories," Dot smiled, crossing her arms against her shoulder and leaning her hip against the aisle.

Elizabeth sighed, her gaze dropping down to the floor. "Well, Jason and I have been in the same school for three years, like I told you, and I never really noticed him until this year. For the first time, we had two classes together - Psychology and Calculus. I don't know why I never noticed him before - you've seen him, Dot; he's gorgeous. That hair, those eyes, that smile..." she trailed off, a silly grin playing over her face. "Oh, he's amazing. I just love to look at him."

Dot smiled warmly, and the understanding in her eyes slowly chased Elizabeth's embarrassment away. She trailed her fingers against the metal railings separating the beads before slowly dropping to her feet on the waxed floor, sitting cross-legged as she usually did when they talked. Dot remained standing, as always - slight rheumatism and arthritis made it difficult for her to get up from the floor.

"But we never talked. To this day, I don't know why. We'd see each other in the hallway. And yet we'd both look away or pretend not to see, and I don't know why. Sydney told me at first that it was because Jason was nervous, and another time when he walked by me and looked away and started whistling, she told me it was because he was just trying to be funny."

"Boys his age have a strange sense of humor," Dot remarked wryly, rolling her eyes. Jason reminded her of her first husband, a charming, debonair clown by the name of Elmer. He'd been her first true love and their marriage had always been filled with laughter and love until a sudden heart attack took him away from her.

"Tell me about it," Elizabeth huffed, rolling her eyes. "So then, like I told you, he picked me up after I fell in front of Sydney's locker. And you know, I still haven't thanked Johnny for that."

Dot chuckled, sniffing daintily and waiting for her to continue.

"After that, things slowly picked up. We shared an umbrella during a thunderstorm, I gave him a Valentine's balloon which he probably just popped and sucked the helium out of later, and then we just started hanging around each other more. I mean, not outside of school, but just in class and at lunch. We talked about everything, Dot, everything. I always have such a great time with him. He's one of those few people who can talk me off a ledge - I'll be freaking out about something and, boom, Jason will be there with some funny story or another and he'll just calm me down like only a few people can. Sonny was good at that, too - he'd always give me little pep talks to get me through it. But he's got his hands full trying to tie Brenda down, which is as hilarious as all heck because she knows that she really likes him, but she's still giving him the run-around to keep him on his toes. And it's working."

Dot smiled. That Brenda was a character. But unfortunately not interested in hemp or trinkets, so that was that right there.

"We went down to New York and had a great time. I guess it was technically like a date, only it wasn't, really, because we did everything in a huge group. It was like a no-pressure date, which was cool. And then we got here and so did the boys, and it was really cool. We spent hours on the beach, just talking and laughing and swimming and making sand castles - that Sonny would stomp on, of course - and playing volleyball and just having so much fun."

"What was the sunscreen situation? Ask, Trick, or Offer?"

Elizabeth smiled at Dot's point-blank question. "Well, he offered himself to..you know."

Dot smiled. This Jason was a sharp tack. "Go on."

"So we go out to dinner yesterday and it was...terrible. I mean, I guess it wasn't that bad, but...Ugh."

"What happened, Ellie?"

Elizabeth blinked back a surprising wave of unexpected tears. "He froze up. He barely talked, kept bumbling around, and it was just so awkward. And I mean, what good is all the time we've spent together if he still feels so nervous around me? That's not progress - that's nothing. I mean, we might as well be right back at square one. What was the point of coming all the way down here to be with me if you're just going to clam up?"

"You seemed pretty cozy on the dance floor."

Elizabeth nodded. "That was...nice. He was better after we danced. He kinda loosened up and I was like, okay, good, now this is the Jason I know. And when we slow-danced - Oh, Dot, that was incredible. I've never felt like that before - I've never danced that way with a boy before and felt so...light. Ethereal."

Dot didn't blink at the ridiculously sophisticated vocab word the brunette casually tossed into her everyday conversations. "What song?"

"_Dancin' in the Wind_."

"Hm."

"It was perfect, too. Something about how it _feels just like we're dancin' in the wind, and we can dance all night_. I really could - I mean, dance all night with him like that. I mean, I wasn't even dancing, Dot - I was floating. I've never felt that way before."

Dot smiled to herself. Elizabeth always employed repetition when she was affected - and this Jason Morgan seemed to have her _very_ affected.

"And then we went back to the hotel, and Jason and I went for a walk. He wanted to see the gazebo at night, so we took the shortcut through the meadow and he was the same old Jason - not the one that didn't know what to say during dinner and not the one that didn't have to say anything while we danced. He was _Jason_. He was laughing and yelling and making jokes and it was just like we've always been."

Elizabeth clicked her unpolished nails against the shining tiles. The _click click click_ was the only sound in the shop.

"And then I showed him the thicket by the gazebo. I just thought he'd like it - he's kind of a nature guy, you know? And me and Brenda sometimes hang out there, so I showed him. And we were just standing there, looking up at the stars and the moon - oh, they were so bright and close, Dot - and all of a sudden he said something about how he thought I was beautiful."

Dot couldn't suppress the smile that instantly lit up her face at those words, and she didn't bother to try. She instantly decided that she liked this Jason fellow - any man capable of saying that to a woman point-blank deserved a badge of bravery. And it was about time Elizabeth heard that - she didn't have the highest self-esteem when it came to her physical appearance, and that bothered Dot because Elizabeth was a simply lovely girl.

Elizabeth was blushing, but she forged on anyway. "And then he kissed me."

Dot's eyes widened, and for a moment the old woman wasn't sure of what to say. "Ellie - your first?"

"Mm-hmm."

Dot bit her lip, convinced her foolish grin would end up cracking her face. She did her best to keep her mouth shut and not prod Elizabeth about it further, but failed miserably. "Tongue? Or not?"

If possible, Elizabeth turned an even brighter shade of red. "Tongue."

"A little or to an almost-choking extent?"

"Try halfway down my throat."

"Oh."

There was a long pause as Dot just watched Elizabeth, who stared straight ahead at the ladybug beads.

"And...did you like it?"

Elizabeth buried her face in her hands before the words had completely left Dot's mouth. "God, yes."

Dot's merry laughter echoed through the store as the older woman clapped her hands together in glee over Elizabeth's answer. "Oh, Ellie!"

"What?" Elizabeth's voice was muffled by her hands.

"You're too much," Dot answered, wiping the tears from her eyes. The girl was a riot, especially with her _God, yes_ answer. Priceless. "But go on."

"Well, there's not much else to say, except that we were busted by the cops."

"What?"

"The cops broke into the thicket and took us in. Long story short, they thought we were the bunch of kids that knocked off some liquor, and Sonny and Brenda had to come down with our licenses and credit cards and reinforce our alibis. And then we were let to go, after three and a half hours in the jailhouse, two of which were spent in the holding cell."

"Sherman wasn't around?"

"Family emergency."

"Figures. Those rookie cops are worthless - they couldn't catch a fly with honey."

"Meh."

"There's more to this story, though, isn't there?"

"Yeah."

"Feel free to expand."

"Jason was...Ugh. OK, basically, he didn't say a word to me while were sitting by the desks, and he just paced back and forth when we were in the cell, and he didn't say anything but four-letter words on our walk home - none of which were directed at me, don't worry - and he just mumbled goodbye over his shoulder and ran up into his room."

Silence stretched out like a blanket between them as Dot processed this.

"Oh, boy."

"In a word, yeah."

"What can I tell you, hon? Boys are fools."

Elizabeth looked at her then, her eyes narrowed and dark lashes framing the sapphire blues. "But why did he act like that, Dot? Why? I mean, first he was kissing me like...like _that_ in the thicket, and then he doesn't even say anything to me after that? What - Why would he act like that?"

Dot regarded her carefully, her lips pursing into a thin line. "Ellie, I wish I knew. I wish I had the answers for you, sweetheart, but I don't. And there's only one person who does."

"Yeah, but I don't want to talk to that person."

Dot smiled. "I know you don't, darling, but you can't run away from him."

"No. He'd catch me. He's a runner."

"I hear runners make sensational lovers."

Elizabeth's head snapped to look at her. "OH, you - Shush! You did _not_ hear that!"

"OK, fine, but what if it's true?" Dot teased. "Are you going to let a little misunderstanding keep you from exploring the hypothesis?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "You're terrible."

Dot just laughed. "I'm allowed to be."

"You take advantage of that fact."

"Maybe," she shrugged. "But I still say you hunt Caboose-Boy down and make him tell you exactly what crawled up that chiseled rear and died."

Elizabeth bit her lip to keep from laughing, knowing it would only encourage the strange woman standing in front of her. "You have a one-track mind, Dot, and it's going nowhere."

"Yeah, but I'm always right where I want to be."

"Where's that?" Elizabeth teased. "The gutter?"

"Don't knock it until you've tried it," Dot winked. She wasn't really like this, and they both knew it, but she just enjoyed teasing the bashful girl. "Maybe Caboose will take you there sometime. You can visit me."

"Oh, dear Lord." Elizabeth pinched her nose, chuckling to herself as Dot snickered. "You are _bad_."

She glanced at her watch then and reluctantly stood up. "I should get going, Dot, but I'll stop in again soon - maybe this evening."

Dot nodded, standing straight and walking Elizabeth to the counter. "Just think about what I said, Ellie. Talk to him. Find out what he's thinking. There's just no other way, honey."

Elizabeth nodded, reaching for her purse.

"And besides," Dot added softly. "You never know what you might miss if you don't seize this." Her voice dropped lower. "I almost missed my chance with my Elmer because I was stubborn and let my pride get in the way after we fought. But my mother gave me the same advice, and it all worked out in the end."

She stopped, just studying Elizabeth.

"Is Jason the first boy you've ever felt this way for, Ellie?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Mm-hmm."

Dot's face melted into a smile of sympathy. "Oh, darling. The first ones are the most confusing." Elizabeth laughed. "But don't worry - things have a funny way of working out the way they're supposed to."

Elizabeth smiled warmly at her friend. "Thanks, Dot."

"Don't thank me," Dot replied, shaking her head. "Just go find Mr. Caboose and talk to him."

"I think I will - eventually." With that, Elizabeth turned and ducked out of the store, laughing as Dot yelled at her.

The morning was much brighter now, and the sun was shining warmly. The town showed more signs of animation now as Elizabeth made her way over to _Marleen's_.

Emmitt was fixing the window display of canned peaches when she walked in. He gave her a toothy grin as soon as she walked in. "Lizard!" he exclaimed, abandoning the peaches. She smiled at the greeting - all the children in the town had adopted it.

"Hey, Emmitt, how're you?"

"Fine, thank you," he smiled. "Did you come for breakfast?"

"Just some juice actually."

"Get the orange," he recommended. "That's my favorite."

"Me, too," she agreed seriously. "I think I will."

He smiled up at her and went back to his peaches, and Elizabeth walked over to the counter, smiling at George's wife who stood behind it.

"Hi, Beth," the woman smiled.

"Hi, Emma," she responded warmly.

"Have a seat, honey," the woman offered, gesturing to the leather stools.

Elizabeth shook her head. "Thank you, but I just wanted to get some orange juice and sit out on the dock."

Emma smiled at her. "Of course, darlin'. Here you go." She slid a tall glass bottle of orange juice across the counter at Elizabeth - extra-pulpy, her favorite.

"Thank you," Elizabeth replied, sliding change back at her. "See you at lunch."

This was greeted with light laughter as Emma waved back at her as she made her way for the door. "See you then, dear."

The seagulls were already out in full force as Elizabeth walked toward the ocean, pulling her straw from the wrapper and stuffing the paper in her purse. The juice was cool and she sipped it sparingly, wanting to save it for when she was actually on the dock.

The boathouse appeared before her, all the boats already out for the day. Not that there were that many to begin with, though. Her flip-flops clomped against the wooden planks as she walked out onto the pier, staring out at the ocean.

She mulled over whether to sit down on the pier itself, but the white stains told her the seagulls and their feces had beat her to it.

No matter, she thought. The boat house, though small and run-down, had a great little swing out front where you could just sit for hours and stare out at the ocean. Plus, it was under a little lean-to, which was good considering she hadn't bothered with any sunscreen.

_Probably because Jason wasn't around to slather it on you_, a cheeky little voice in her head spoke up.

Elizabeth snorted at the thought, taking another sip from her juice as she walked backwards across the pier. That was the Dot in her making herself known.

"Crazy lady," she muttered, swirling her straw around in the juice as she turned under the lean-to in front of the swing.

"Who's a crazy lady?"

Elizabeth nearly jumped into the air when she heard his voice, but managed to keep her feet planted on the ground. No, she didn't jump, but her heart certainly did. She tried to swallow past its newfound position in her throat as her wide blue eyes met an equally blue pair.

"Who's a crazy lady?" Jason repeated lightly, tapping his toes against the wooden planks from where he was sprawled comfortably across the swing.

"I - no one," Elizabeth replied, her hand tightening around her juice bottle. "Just someone I - no one."

Jason quirked a brow at her but didn't press her, instead gesturing to the swing. "Wanna join me?"

She regarded him suspiciously, her fingers on her straw again. Why was he being so nonchalant, especially after last night? "S-Sure."

She walked toward him slowly, still watching him carefully, and slowly sat down on the swing.

They sat in silence for a moment, and Jason began pushing the swing slowly, rocking it back and forth.

"Beautiful day," he offered, his eyes traveling across the ocean. Elizabeth was seated sideways, facing him, and she narrowed her eyes at the casual conversation.

"Yeah. They all are."

He looked at her then, steadily, without letting his eyes waver.

She waited for him to say something but when he didn't, she brought her straw up to her lips and glanced at the Atlantic, failing to notice how his eyes fell to her lips as they puckered to accept the straw.

One hand settled on her knee, playing with the frayed end of denim shorts. She remained staring out at the ocean, pretending to ignore Jason. Whenever she pulled this tactic on Sonny, he eventually couldn't take it and started talking.

And Jason was no different.

"Look, Elizabeth," he sighed, looking earnestly at her. She pretended to be surprised at the sound of his voice and made a production out of turning to look at him, batting her eyelashes as if he'd just summoned her from an entirely different world.

"What?" The single word was tinged with innocence, making Jason swallow uncomfortably.

"I - we have to talk."

She widened her eyes at him. "Oh? So _now_ we're going to talk?"

Her words threw him for a loop. "Uh...yeah?"

"Oh." She nodded, her bottom lip protruding slightly as she smirked. "So after an entire night of you ignoring me in the slammer and practically running away from me into the safe refuge of your room, and _now_ you want to talk?"

He studied her carefully. "You're angry."

She sucked in a deep breath, offering him a cold, small smile. "Now, whatever gave you that idea, Sherlock?"

"Look, Elizabeth, I get that you're upset, but I can explain-"

That was it. "You can _explain_?" she cried, leaping up from the bench and ignoring the small bit of juice that sloshed onto her hand. "Oh, this'll be rich. Go on, Morgan, _explain_. Explain to me why you clammed up tighter during dinner than Alcatraz security and why I didn't get a damn word from you after we were arrested!"

"Ok, first," he began, rising slowly from the bench with one finger raised. "We weren't arrested - they said they'd make absolutely no documentation of it as long as we didn't sue their pants off. And second -"

She didn't even let him finish. "You are unbelievable, you know that?"

Now it was Jason's turn to respond with some irritation, which he did. "Well, how about you actually let me get a word in edgewise, Webber?"

"Fine." She stood solidly, her arms crossed over her chest and watched him with narrowed eyes from under a furrowed brow. "Go."

He took in a deep breath through his nose, his intense blue eyes boring through hers. "First, I'm sorry about last night. About everything, I mean - dinner, getting arrested, the kiss-"

The impact of his words hit her faster than anything in her life ever had, and she was pivoting hard on her heel out of anger and frustration and a desperate urge not to let him see the sudden wave of tears that sprung to her eyes.

The _kiss_? He was sorry about the _kiss_?

_Well, of course he would be_, another little voice told her. _After all, think about it - this is Jason Morgan. Yeah, that's right. Did you really think he'd want to waste his time with you after your performance during that lip lock? He's experienced - you, on the other hand, were standing there with your mouth flapping like a fish out of water_.

Even as she told the voice to #$ off and furiously blinked away her tears, Jason's hand wrapped around her elbow.

"Elizabeth-"

"Let go of me, you jerk!"

Her words surprised him because his grip loosened for an instant before he snapped himself out of it and pulled again - harder.

"I said let go!" Her words whipped through the air as he quickly wrenched his hand back, pulling her to him. Her hands found his chest and pushed, her blue eyes blazing with fury. "Damn you, Morgan - don't you understand English? Let me go!"

"Not until you listen to me, Webber," he replied, struggling to maintain his hold on her. The fact that she was fairly writhing in his grip and wearing a pair of short denim shorts made it difficult for him to remember what he was going to say. "Damn it - will you just hold still for one second?"

"Only if you let go!"

"Fine!" He withdrew his hands from around her, even stepped back a step. She watched him warily, rubbing her arm protectively where he grabbed her.

"Look, like I said, I'm sorry about dinner and jail and-"

"And the kiss," she tossed back bitterly. "I know, and believe me, it doesn't surprise me in the least."

Her words had him doing a double-take. "What is that supposed to mean?"

She drew herself up to him, her blue eyes blazing with sparks of anger. "That I'm not surprised you're sorry," she repeated flippantly. "That I know it wasn't supposed to go that far and that you never meant to do it." OK, so she didn't really know that, but she'd believe it if he did. "And don't worry, it's my fault."

In her anger and humiliation, she didn't notice the total confusion on his face.

"It's my fault for being delusional enough to think that you knew what you were doing and that on top of that, you _meant_ to do it. But don't worry," she added, throwing her hands in the air. "I know that now, thank you very much."

Jason still hadn't recovered from his sudden attack of confusion. His brows furrowed as he stared at her as if she'd just randomly started shouting the lyrics to _Eidelweiss_ in Russian. "What are you talking about?"

And then he knew.

From the way she rolled her eyes and turned to the ocean for moral support, from the way she wrapped her arms around herself, the way her eyes softened and her lower lip trembled, he knew.

"Oh, #$," he muttered, running a hand through his golden hair. "Elizabeth-"

She simply shook her head once, turning away. But he knew better than to allow her to walk away.

And in her weakened state, Elizabeth was in no position to fight him off when he reached out and gently wrapped his long fingers around her wrist.

"Elizabeth."

Her name from those lips brought about a new wave of tears, and Elizabeth stared up at the bright blue sky, forcing them back before she allowed him to turn her around to face him.

He stepped closer, both hands on her arms, and looked searchingly into her eyes. She refused to look at him, looking instead at the sky, the ocean, the black dog on the beach that she could see over his shoulder...

"Elizabeth." His voice was gentle, and she hated it. Hated that he felt he had to patronize her like this just because she was a ninny whose eyes seemed to be a freaking automated sprinkler system. "I knew what I was doing."

She blinked at him, surprised, and his heart sank at the utter confusion and disbelief reflected in her eyes.

"Y-you did?" Her voice was foreign to her, and thicker with tears than she would have liked.

He nodded immediately, his eyes never wavering from hers. "And I meant to do it. Actually, I had been meaning to for a long time," he admitted, averting his gaze for the first time. "But I guess I kinda chickened out."

She still wasn't buying it, and he sighed deeply before going on.

"Look, what I mean to say is that I knew what I was doing when I kissed you last night."

"Then why did you apologize?" The question was a whisper carried atop the light ocean breeze.

He shrugged uncomfortably, withdrawing his hands from her arms and stuffing them into his pockets. "Because...because I was a total monster."

"What?"

His eyes were pained and embarrassed. Remorseful. "Elizabeth, I - I practically attacked you."

Oh. So that was it. She set her jaw firmly, a thousand thoughts running through her head. It all went back to walking on eggshells - he probably thought he was too rough and scared her off or whatever.

Her hands clenched into fists.

What the #$?

What did he think she was, some raggedy little doll that would fall apart with a good gust of wind? Someone that needed to be freakin' wrapped in cotton and protected?

Why were they all like this - not even just Jason, but all her male friends? Why did they try so hard not to offend her, not to upset her or be mean or physically rough? They weren't like that with the other girls - Petey and Jason fist-fought on an almost regular basis, Johnny was forever tossing Brenda over his shoulder and pretending to throw her down the stairs, and Jenny and Brendan were perpetually shouting insults at each other from opposite ends of the hall. Why couldn't they just be like that with her? Why couldn't they just be _normal_ with her? Was that so much to ask? Why did they always have to baby her, protect her? Was it something about her that screamed weakness and a need for protection? Why did they have to treat her like she was so different - why did they make her _feel_ like she was so different?

Jason didn't notice her aggravated stance. "Look, I basically mauled you right there, and... I'm sorry. God, I'm so sorry." He shook his head in shame and her anger flared up again. "That's not at _all_ how I wanted our first kiss to be."

And just like that, her anger melted away.

He had thought about their first kiss? He'd planned out how he wanted it to be? And all for her?

Feeling rather fickle but unable to ignore the happiness that swelled up inside her, Elizabeth stepped closer to where he stood with his head bent, her face soft.

"I didn't mind."

There. She said it.

He looked up at her in surprise, not sure of what to make of her assertion. His blue eyes clouded with confusion. "But, Elizabeth," he sputtered. "It was wrong, and-"

She cut him off with a single shake of her head, willing herself to step closer to him. They were almost toe-to-toe now.

"Who said it was wrong, Jason?" she asked softly. "And by whose standards?" He simply stared back at her and she sighed. "Why was it wrong?"

"B-Because," he sputtered as if the lone word itself was answer enough. "That's - That was no way for me to act, Elizabeth, after our first date, if you want to call it that. What kind of wacko does that? I practically dragged you into those bushes and rammed my tongue halfway down your throat-"

She blushed at the memory as she cut him off. "Actually, _I_ dragged _you_ into those bushes."

"Whatever," he replied. "It doesn't matter. The bottom line is that it was no way for me to act. I was raised better than that, Elizabeth, and I disrespected you last night, and I can't believe I did that."

_Funny how you're only so worried about disrespecting her_, the voice in Jason's head snickered. _Oh, man. Hypocrite_.

Jason ignored the voice as he usually did, and rubbed his neck with one hand.

Elizabeth was just watching him. Studying him. She blinked once, and he felt himself drawn in by her deep blue eyes. "Jason." Her voice was soft and understanding. He liked it when she said his name. "I'm not made of glass, you know."

He blushed, looking down at the wooden planks. The water shimmered below, twinkling up at him. "I know."

She smirked. "And in case you didn't realize it then, I was an active participant in this _mauling_, as you call it."

His head snapped up, and her smirk died when she looked into his smoldering eyes. "I - I know."

They remained silent for a long moment, both just watching each other. Elizabeth cleared her throat, suddenly uncomfortable.

"Jason," she tried, slowly sinking onto the porch swing. He followed suit, carefully watching her facial expression as she tucked a strand of hair that escaped from her pigtail behind her ear. "Please don't do that."

He blinked at her. "Do what?"

"That," she repeated. "Don't...don't worry about me like that. Don't worry, first of all, about saying something that I might not like, or doing something I might not like, and don't walk around eggshells when you're with me. I don't want that from you - I want so much more."

His eyes were growing increasingly wider at her words but she continued, knowing that if she stopped now, these things would never be said.

"I don't want us to have to be like that - I don't want you always trying to protect me from everything. Seriously, in general, what kind of life is that when you're so worried about protecting something that you can't even enjoy it to begin with?"

He nodded, listening intently.

"And don't, _don't_ try to think of how I'd like things to be - believe it or not, I don't believe in perfection or fairy tale fluff, despite what everyone seems to think. I'm not like that. Not at all. I didn't think of our first kiss in terms of a water fountain and fireworks going off in the background and the whole lifting the foot deal, or whatever the common fairy tale view of it is these days - I was perfectly fine with you licking my tonsils while we groped in the bushes."

Jason almost burst out laughing at her words, his shoulders shaking with the effort of holding it in. When he looked at her, he found her perfectly serious with just the faintest trace of amusement in her magical blue eyes.

"We weren't groping."

"Well, maybe _you_ weren't," she teased playfully, and he almost lost it all over again.

"But seriously," she continued after he had regained his composure. His eyes still danced wickedly and his crooked smile was making it increasingly difficult for her to remember her next point of attack. The seagulls cried overhead as they circled the beach, but the pair sprawled comfortably across the porch swing of the little old boat house didn't even notice. "Please don't be that way. I mean, I appreciate the thought, I guess, but it's just gotten so old."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed. "I've been treated that way my whole life - do you know that? By everyone; friends, family, everyone. To this day, no one swears in front of me. No one tells any off-color jokes. No one is cruelly mean to one another. No one ever threatens to punch me or even horses around with me in that way. Everyone is always so careful around me, as if I'll shatter into a million pieces if they so much as look at me cross-eyed. I'm sick of it, Jason - and I really don't want that from you."

Jason cocked his head to the side. His blue eyes shimmered. "I never meant to make you feel that way."

She nodded reassuringly. "I know, I know you didn't."

The corner of his mouth hooked up. "But I have to admit, I can't blame everyone else that acts that way around you."

Her eyebrows pulled together into a deep V. "Why on earth not?"

"Because you're so _little_," he teased. "_Of course_ you bring out the protective instincts in everyone around you. Everyone just looks at you and wants to take care of you, Little One." His eyes danced as he teased her. "You're just so tiny and smart and perfect that no one wants to see anything bad happen to you. Like, for example, if Johnny ever tried to pick _you_ up and threaten to throw you down the stairs, you can bet that all the boys in the senior hallway would be on him in two seconds flat."

She smiled dryly at the mental image of Johnny being flattened into a brash Irish pancake by the senior boys. "And am I to assume that I bring out these same 'protective instincts' in you?"

"Naturally," Jason responded with a grin before something else occurred to him and the smile dropped off of his face.

Elizabeth watched his eyes change. "What? What is it?"

"I - Look, about jail last night - that's another thing."

She shrugged, not seeing where he was going. "What about it?"

"I am _so_ sorry that you had to go through that."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at him. "What did I just say about eggshells, Morgan?"

He shook his head. "No, it's not because of that," he replied honestly.

"Then what _is_ it about?"

He sighed heavily. "I - you were there because of me. I was the one that lost my temper and because of that, you had to sit in that jail cell." When he looked up at her, she saw the same remorse in his eyes. "And I am _so_ sorry."

She scooted closer to him and their knees bumped. Neither of them made an effort to move. "You were with me the whole time."

He shook his head, still troubled and unwilling to let her alleviate the blame he felt he deserved. "That's not the point. You never should have had to be there. If I had just tried to talk to the cops or kept my cool-"

She silenced him by placing a finger on his lips. The move surprised him, and all he could do was stare at her as she softly shook her head. "You don't get it, Jason," she smiled softly. "We were in that together. They busted us both. It was never the question of you getting me into trouble, or me being there because of you. Ever. So don't even think about that. And please don't feel guilty. Besides," she added with a wink. "It's not like it was my first time in jail."

His jaw dropped.

It took several moments for his brain to kick back in gear and when it did, he wanted some answers.

"When were you in jail?" he demanded, staring at her in wonder.

"Not telling," she laughed, edging away from him. The swing rocked with her movement, and then with Jason's as he scooted forward and tried to grab him.

She writhed out of his grasp a few times before he finally latched on to her and began tickling her.

"Tell me," he demanded, laughing himself as she roared with laughter when his fingers danced over her stomach. "When were you in jail? And why?"

"Nope!" she cried, twisting and writhing to get away from him. But Jason wouldn't have any of that, and pulled her into his lap for easier access. "Not telling!"

"Oh, you're going to tell me, Webber," he growled, tickling her more furiously. "You're going to tell me."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Talk, woman!"

Tears were streaming down her face and she twisted helplessly in his lap. "Fine, fine!" Her hands found his shoulders and she pulled herself up, still sitting in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned back against the side of the swing, eager to hear when and why perfect little Elizabeth Imogene Webber was thrown into the slammer.

"So," he chuckled into her ear. "Why were you in jail?"

She wiped the back of her hand across her eyes, her body still reflexively shaking. "OK, I have to be honest...I was four years old."

Jason smelled a rat but let her continue without any trouble.

"It was the first time we visited Clover and my dad saved the life of Lieutenant Sherman's youngest daughter when she choked on something. So our families were hanging out one evening at the jailhouse because my mom made them a pie, and he let me try out his handcuffs, and then he locked me in the cell for three seconds and then let me out."

"Way to lie, liar," Jason huffed as he began tickling her again. She shrieked and writhed once more, her sudden movement sending one of his hands a short distance under her _Herman's Hermits_ t-shirt. He withdrew it quickly and tickled her some more, laughing along with her. "You had me going for a minute. Worst story ever."

She succeeded in grabbing his hands and holding them away from her tummy, and when she was convinced that he wouldn't give her any more trouble with his wandering digits, she released him. "Well, I wanted to make you feel better."

He smiled, pulling her against him and resting his chin on her head. "Thank you."

She nodded, looking down at her juice which she'd long ago set on the wooden planks. After deliberating for a moment, she broke away from his embrace and reached down to get it, finally sitting back and letting him reassume his hold on her.

He sighed, smiling softly and gently caressing her side with his palm as she drank her orange juice.

"What were we fighting about?"

"I have no clue, man."


	9. Snow and Steam

**Snow & Steam**

_Thursday in Clover, North Carolina_

"Yeah, Mom. No. No. Yeah. OK. You're kidding! No way! Ugh. Fine. Good. That sucks. OK. No. Yeah. Love you, too. Bye."

Jason flipped his cell phone shut, glancing up at his friends. It was nighttime and they were all seated in the gazebo, looking up at the stars and sipping their iced teas.

"Mom says it's going to be snowing back home soon."

Brenda's eyes bugged out. "You're kidding!"

"I wish."

"Oh, that's terrible," Elizabeth wailed. "It's freaking April!"

"I know," Sonny agreed, setting his glass down. "Damn New York cold fronts. I blame the Canadians."

Jason smirked. "What _don't_ you blame the Canadians for?"

Sonny slid him a sidelong glance. "Shut up."

Brenda chuckled, settling back against the wooden railing of the lit-up gazebo. They were the only ones sitting there, due to some sort of implied code that stated that if a group of people were occupying the popular spot, no other group should encroach. The Atlantic ocean glittered, dark and distant despite the fact that they were sitting right on it, and the stars twinkled merrily above. "I can't believe this is our last night here."

Elizabeth closed her eyes. "I know. I loved this. I don't know how I'm going to leave." She opened her eyes, letting them wander from one person to the next. "This was the best vacation ever."

Jason smiled slowly. "Definitely."

Sonny nodded. "I'm so glad we followed you girls up here."

Elizabeth licked her lips. "Don't you mean that you're so glad you took Brenda's orders and delivered Jason down here for me?"

Sonny bit his lip to force back laughter at her candidness, his eyes flickering over to Jason, who was already laughing openly. "Sure. If that's how you want to look at it."

"It's the truth," his best friend chuckled, his blue eyes twinkling. "Everyone knows it."

Brenda pretended to pout. "You mean we didn't do a very good job being all secretive?"

Elizabeth watched her, bemused. "Barrett, you two were more obvious than an elephant at a ballet studio."

"You make no sense sometimes, Beth."

"Stuff it or I'll tell the clown story, Corinthos. You know I will."

"Yes, ma'am."

The four friends sat in a contented silence, their minds wandering back over the past week in the charming little town of Clover. Sonny and Jason were introduced to some of the nicest people they had ever met, people that they were sure were a dying breed. They had spent hours on the beach with the girls, sleeping in the sun, and had even tried surfing on the choppy waters of the Atlantic. Though it was a far cry from the smooth waves of the Pacific, they still enjoyed themselves. They loved exploring the town with the girls, who acted as their official tour guides. They'd walked through the town in the dead of night, the wee hours of the morning, whispering and laughing to themselves. They made the gazebo their own, even took a gander at the infamous thicket that had failed to protect their two friends from a bunch of over-zealous cops. They'd taken the girls out on a paddle-boat, had visited Dot in her little jewelry shop, had thrown a football around with Marleen's two grandsons, Emmitt and Brant.

For one week, they had forgotten all about the petty little concerns of their lives in sleepy little Port Charles. No more worries about college or finishing senior year or being busted for one thing or another by the suddenly paranoid and extremely picky parental units. No more chores to be done, no more fights with annoying siblings, no more back-breaking studying.

For this week, they were free from it all, and it felt like paradise.

Clover had sucked away all their worries, all the tension, everything that was worrying them. It made their problems seem so small - so conquerable, so insignificant - and filled them with invigorating strength and confidence.

In short, it had been a wonderful vacation.

"We have to come back here," Brenda said softly, her eyes tracing a constellation in the pitch-black sky. "All four of us."

"Maybe before college?" Jason suggested. "That would be nice."

"Before college," Elizabeth agreed. She set her glass of almost finished iced tea on the railing and scooted closer to Jason, taking advantage of the fact that his arms were stretched over the wooden railing and leaning into his side. His fingers instantly fell on her shoulder, rubbing absent circles there.

Brenda's toes tapped a soundless beat on the floor. "So, are you boys driving back up with us?"

Jason looked at Sonny. "Are we?"

Sonny shrugged. "You want to? We don't _have_ to use the round-trip tickets."

Jason glanced down at Elizabeth before setting his chin on her soft chestnut hair. "Let's do that. Besides, the girls are driving back - they'll leave a day before us anyway, if we decided to fly. What are we going to do here by ourselves?"

Elizabeth shifted, looking up at him. "But I thought you guys liked it here."

"We do," Jason assured her, gently massaging her shoulder. "But it's mainly because of you two."

"Aww," Brenda teased. "Jase, you are just so damn sweet."

"Can it, Barrett, or I'll toss you into the water."

"You do and you die, Morgan."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah - I'll kick your ass."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Boys, boys," Brenda broke in, her eyes sparkling as she waved her hands at them. "Please, no need to fight over me."

"You wish, midget."

"Jason?"

"What?"

"I may be a midget, but you're an ass-clown."

"Hey! Don't call him that!"

"I'll call him whatever I want!"

"Fat chance!"

Jason and Sonny grinned as the girls lazily pretended to fight, punctuating their retorts with mid-air fist shaking. "Looks like the teams have changed slightly, Sonny," Jason grinned. "Who would've thought that a couple of microscopic brunettes would break us up?'

"First, I did," Brenda replied witheringly. "And second, stop talking like that about yourselves. We _broke you up_? Geez - I'm getting weird vibes."

Elizabeth laughed when Sonny and Jason both glared at Brenda for daring to suggest something like that. Cornered now, Brenda had little choice but to surrender.

"Fine, fine, I'll shut up."

"Good," the boys huffed in unison.

"Sometimes, Brenda," Sonny began with his most-used phrase when it came to his female friends.

"You make absolutely no sense," Jason finished with a scowl.

"Aw, look, Bren," Elizabeth crowed, "they're finishing each other's sentences!"

"Oh, aren't you boys just something else!" Brenda teased, clapping her hands together. "I don't know, Beth, something tells me that you and I will always be close seconds when it comes to these two."

"OK, now, you know you need to stop," Sonny burst out, almost unable to look Jason in the eye after the girls' teasing.

"Yeah, that's enough," Jason agreed firmly.

"Oh, gosh, Bren, we're hurting their feelings."

"You're right, Beth - we're sorry, boys. Do you need a minute? A tissue, perhaps?"

"What are you saying?" Sonny demanded. "That we're too feminine?"

"I don't recall saying that," Elizabeth replied calmly, fighting back a ghost of a smile. "Do you, Bren?"

"Not me," the brunette insisted. "I just realize how sensitive these two are. We have to be extra careful not to hurt their feelings."

"True," Elizabeth pretended to sigh, looking straight at Brenda and ignoring the way Jason glowered at her. "We're just ganging up on 'em, Bren, and we can't do that."

"Not to _this_ dynamic duo," Brenda agreed. "And _what_ a duo, huh? They're better together than peanut butter and jelly."

"Who's the peanut butter?" Elizabeth wanted to know as Sonny and Jason's eyebrows descended further and further down their faces.

"Sonny - he's the thicker one," Brenda replied, tapping her skull with a polished finger.

The two girls sat still for a moment, just staring at each other, willing each other not to start laughing and ruin the effect it was having on their respective boys. Sonny was so angry at their insinuations that he was about to start spewing fire.

Suddenly, Brenda just burst out laughing, slapping her knee while trying to suppress it.

"What?" Elizabeth asked, amusement making it hard for her not to smile. "What?"

"Remember SNL?" Brenda replied, referring to a late-night Saturday comedy show. "The Ambiguously Gay Duo?"

Sonny and Jason's eyes widened when Brenda finally said the word, and their fists clenched as Elizabeth howled with laughter.

"Face it, Beth," Brenda winked at her best friend, who was now wiping tears from her eyes. "We'll always be second best when it comes to these boys."

The boys had had enough with their not-so-subtle insinuations, and looked at each other for a quick moment, both of them nodding as they wordlessly agreed on what to do.

"You know what?" Sonny's growl was lost against Brenda's lips as he pulled her face to his, kissing her roughly. Brenda laughed against his mouth and pushed him lightly, but her teasing had already had its desired affect - Sonny was ticked and wouldn't back off so easily. She let him wrap his arms around her waist and pull her to him until there wasn't an inch between them on the bench. His tongue was already exploring her mouth and she chuckled to herself as she looped her hands around his neck, not noticing that Jason was exercising the same tactic on Elizabeth.

He had effectively pulled her into his lap, as he somehow always managed to, and the two were in a close embrace. Her fingers were already spearing through his dark golden hair and his were splayed out against her lower back, right over the waistband of her cotton capris.

The foursome spent several more hours there, under the glow of the gentle white lights of the gazebo, the solitary illuminated dome against the dark backdrop of the Atlantic and the tranquil nighttime sky above.

After reluctantly drifting back to the hotel and snatching a few hours of sleep after successfully beating back their anxiety-induced insomnia, they awoke with the sun to bid farewell to their safe haven.

Sonny and Jason scurried back and forth from the girls' room to Mr. Barrett's blue Lexus, doing their best to cram all of their bags and supplies into the trunk. They didn't have much trouble - thankfully, the Toyota company equipped their best luxury vehicle with a trunk big enough for Ted Kennedy to stow away in if he so chose to.

Brenda came out then and helped them rearrange the cargo in the trunk for some more space, and then directed the boys to the junk she and Elizabeth had buried the backseat under, the same junk the boys would have to cram in the trunk if they wanted a spot to sit.

Finally, everything was put away and the trunk was closed. Sonny and Brenda went to go pay the bill at the front desk and Jason ducked into the girls' room to help Elizabeth grab the last of their trinkets.

She was coming out of the bathroom then, an extra pair of flip-flops dangling from her fingers. Her arms were filled with various articles - a small notebook, a pair of socks, several bracelets, a head band, and a stack of CDs.

"Can you do me a favor and check the dresser drawers for anything I left?" she asked, dumping the junk on the bed in order to rearrange it in her arms so that she wouldn't be dropping something every two feet.

"Sure," he nodded. He pulled open all the drawers, finding only a red clamp thing that he knew girls put in their hair. Why, he didn't know - it looked like one of those steel bear traps. He tossed it into his other hand and noticed her hemp necklace - the lucky one - still lying on the dresser.

"You almost left this behind," he smiled, dangling it from his fingers. She looked up and smiled at him.

"Good thing you picked it up, then." She started backing towards the door. "Let's go - we're sure we have everything?"

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded, shoving the red bear trap in his pocket. He looked at the necklace for a moment before putting it on himself and walking out of the room with her. He softly shut the door behind them and helped her dump the rest of the assorted crap in the trunk.

Sonny and Brenda appeared almost instantly from around the corner, both of them laughing while Brenda pretended to shove him.

"Are we ready to go?" Elizabeth smiled, picking the juice boxes and empty soda cans from the car and tossing them to Jason, who shot baskets into the nearby garbage can.

"Yup," Brenda nodded. "Throw me my visor, will you?"

Elizabeth gave her best friend the white visor and her dark glasses, and Brenda put them on.

"OK. _Now_ we can go."

She unclipped her keys from the belt loop of her denim miniskirt and made sure all four doors were unlocked before sliding into the drivers' seat to warm up the car.

"I would like to take this opportunity to officially call shotgun," Elizabeth announced primly, sliding her own blue sunglasses into place. She cleared her throat daintily. "SHOTGUN!"

Sonny and Jason both jumped at her yell, convinced that both of their girls were crazy. They pulled open the back doors and slid into the back seat, yelping when the hot leather burned the backs of their legs.

"Damn it!" Jason swore, lifting his bottom from the scorching leather.

"And of course, we _have_ to be wearing shorts," Sonny muttered, doing the same.

"Sorry about that," Brenda shrugged before turning back to the wheel and shifting gears.

"Yeah, this car's like an oven sometimes," Elizabeth chipped in, pulling her hair back into a ponytail.

Sonny grumbled under his breath. "And we notice that _you_ girls have sheepskin covers over your own seats," he pointed out.

"But of course," Brenda snipped, smirking.

"Isn't it _wool_?" Jason wanted to know.

Sonny shook his head. "In this case, it's called sheepskin, even though the covers are clearly wool. Don't ask me why."

"Huh."

"You boys comfortable back there?" Brenda asked, fixing her rearview as she slowly reversed.

"Yup," came the reply as she began pulling out of the parking lot. She drove through Clover one last time with all four windows and the moonroof down, and the foursome shouted out to their friends in town that they'd be back in a few months.

Presently, they pulled onto the highway and Elizabeth turned on the radio to the oldies' station and turned the volume way up. Sonny and Jason were amazed to learn that the girls had driven down to North Carolina all the way from New York without stopping for the night. Brenda informed them that if they wanted to be home by midday Saturday, they'd be doing the same.

The drive went by pleasantly and the teenagers took turns at the wheel. Elizabeth napped on Jason's shoulder in the back while Sonny and Brenda played Punch Buggy as Sonny drove. When it was Jason's turn to drive, he warned them that he was prone to falling asleep, so the girls made sure that his plastic soda glass was filled to the brim and blasted the radio as loud as it would go.

They made good time, arriving back in Port Charles at a little after one in the afternoon just as Brenda had predicted. Brenda dropped the boys off at their houses, and Elizabeth at hers before finally arriving at her own.

Her parents were sipping tea in the den and Brenda didn't even bother bringing her bags in from the car. She flopped into the house - dressed now in warmer sweatpants better suited for the bitterly cold New York day - and sank into one of the armchairs. Her parents wanted to know how her vacation went, and Brenda filled them in on the important details. She let the cat out of the bag and said that Sonny and Jason showed up coincidentally as well, all the while stressing the fact that the boys were only friends from school that taught them how to paddle a canoe and improve their serves in volleyball. Her parents believed the lie and deemed Sonny and Jason innocuous, and Brenda breathed a sigh of relief at having escaped a scolding.

Despite the fact that their daughter was almost visibly falling asleep right before them, Brenda's parents insisted that she eat some sort of meal before going to bed. She scarfed down the turkey sandwich and salad her mother prepared as quickly as she could, not wanting to fall asleep at the dining table, and then trudged up to her room.

Without even bothering to change into her pajamas, Brenda flopped down on her bed before realizing she was cold. After a heavy sigh of irritation, she managed to move her body enough to burrow under the flowery pink comforter, and was asleep in no time.

Sonny and Jason had similar experiences; as soon as they entered their homes and flung their duffel bags onto the floor of the foyer, their parents bombarded their exhausted children with eager questions. Did they have fun? Did they learn something new? How was the weather? Did they bring back any souvenirs? Snap any pictures? Was the food good? How was the drive?

Jason's parents extracted every detail about a certain petite brunette daughter of two of their former colleagues from their embarrassed son, all the while cooing about how wonderful it was to see Jason so serious about one girl, and inwardly hoping that this wouldn't just be another in their son's long string of meaningless flings. Jason excused himself from the Spanish Inquisition by ordering AJ to take his bags up to his room, grabbing a slice of cold pizza from the fridge, and almost falling asleep on the floor of his bedroom.

Sonny walked in to warm hugs from both his parents, who had prepared some hot cocoa and peanut-butter-graham-crackers to help their son beat the New York arctic freeze as he regaled them with charming anecdotes from his trip. Their dream didn't play out as planned, though - when they came back with the snack and beverage, their youngest son was fast asleep on the couch.

Elizabeth, however, did not receive such a warm welcome. She let herself in to a chilly house - her father had a terrible habit of pushing the thermostat way down every time they left the house - and staggered in under a heavy load of luggage, which she conveniently left outside the coat closet for her father to take up to her room at a later time (served him right). Her grandparents were away at their weekly salsa lessons at the Port Charles Ballroom, and Sarah had left for college already. Her sister did, however, leave her a nice little gift on the coffee table - _On the Road_ by Jack Kerouac, a book Elizabeth had been meaning to purchase for more than a year.

She mulled over whether or not to warm up some food, but decided not to in the end - sleep seemed like the much better option. So when her parents came home from Mercy Hospital in the evening, they found their precious baby daughter lying across her bed with her shoes still on. Already incredibly guilty about missing her homecoming, they could do little but remove her sneakers, take off the hemp necklace that had to be itching like crazy, tuck her under the covers, smooth back her hair and press a kiss to her cheek.

The kids spent a good deal of time sleeping in their rooms, as if knocked out by industrial-size horse tranquilizers. Their parents and siblings tried to make as little noise as possible until nighttime came and they were able to retire themselves.

When the morning arrived, the still weary travelers awoke at the same time as their parents. All four kids shared breakfast with their families, going over every small detail of their time away for the enjoyment of their parents. The siblings - only AJ - couldn't really have cared less, and spent their time making animals out of the scrambled eggs.

It was around lunchtime that the kids hit full sloth-mode. It was as if they had all spontaneously yet simultaneously realized that school commenced _the very next day_, and were hell bent on cramming in as much inactivity as possible. So they lounged around at the dining table or in the kitchen. Or they slumped on the couch and stared at the television without being even mildly interested in anything playing. Or, they sat on the floor of their rooms and studied the walls - the bed was not an option anymore, as all four of them had slept so much that they feared bedsores if they so much as looked at their unmade beds.

It was sometime after lunch that the phone rang at the Webber residence. It was none other than Brenda, asking if Elizabeth could come over for some last-minute before-school goofing off, and if she could stay for dinner. Both of the Drs. Webber had to report to the hospital that evening, and they saw little problem in letting their daughter spend time at the Barret house.

So Elizabeth arrived at her leisure and the girls ended up baking cookies and watching old Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis movies. Mr. and Mrs. Barrett announced that they were going to a 'little function' at Mr. Barrett's business partner's home, and Brenda informed Elizabeth that it meant that they wouldn't be home until the wee hours of the morning.

So the girls did what they did best - they ordered pizza and sat in Brenda's cozy den with their Dean Martin CDs playing at full blast. They talked relentlessly about everything and everything - boys, school, friends, not-friends, teachers, Clover, Dot, their futures, their pasts, and everything in between.

It was at nine o'clock, after they had cleared away the dishes and disposed of the pizza box and soda cans that they decided to call Sonny and Jason and see if they could also come over.

Both boys replied that they could, and Brenda instructed them both to put on their swim trunks underneath their clothes.

Presently, the doorbell rang and Brenda ran to open it. When she did, she stood agape at the scene in front of her - it was snowing! Fine flakes were being sprinkled down from the heavens and the ground was already covered under a light layer of the glistening powder.

Jason and Sonny hurried in, brushing wet snow from their down jackets. Brenda took their coats and waited as Jason removed his gloves, noting how he rolled his eyes at her after indicating outside through the window with an _I-told-you-so_ expression.

The boys were only too happy to see Elizabeth sitting in the den, but soon insisted that they turn off the Dean Martin love songs that were currently being blasted to every single room in the house via the intercom system Mr. Barrett had installed a few years back. It was still his newest toy, and it caused him infinite joy to be able to sit in the den and carry on a conversation with his wife as she hurried around upstairs, trying to find the pumps that matched her merlot jacket and pull the curlers from her hair while re-typing her presentation notes for the meeting. Besides that, he loved to buzz in to the family room and speak in booming tones to his daughter and all her little friends, most of whom were so stunned by the way his voice rattled through the room as if he were some omniscent and omnipotent God that they could only mumble back in return, afraid of saying the wrong thing and offending the divine being.

Instead, the boys chose to play Brenda's Simon and Garfunkel CDs, making air-guitar motions to the frenetic notes of _Cecilia_. But that was before they found her _Doors_ CD, and spent nearly half an hour yelling, "Come on, baby, light my fire!"

Brenda was watching them with one eye glued out the window, where the snow was coming down thickly. Sonny's voice grabbed her attention but she never turned away from the window.

"So, what's the big mystery, Barrett?" he asked, stretching out on the carpeted floor. "Why did we receive strict orders to wear our trunks?"

"Yeah," Jason agreed absently, thumbing through the magazines that her father kept in the den at all times.

"Actually," Brenda smiled cheekily. "I was thinking we could all get in the hot tub."

Jason's eyes widened at the mention of the hot tub, and instantly landed on Elizabeth who was still calmly sipping her soda and didn't seem as affected by Brenda's Most Brilliant Suggestion in the History of the Universe Ever. "Sounds good to me," he agreed readily. "Let's do it."

"You're drooling, Jase," Sonny muttered to him before turning to Brenda. "Are we allowed to?"

Brenda nodded. "I've had friends in there tons of times before and my parents never cared." She left it at that, hoping that Sonny wouldn't need her to clarify that yes, she had boys in the hot tub with her and a couple other girls.

But he didn't, choosing instead to just nod his head. "Sounds good. Is it inside or something? In the basement? Because I've never actually seen it."

"No, it's not in the _basement_," Elizabeth replied slowly, finishing her soda with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "But you'll see it soon enough. Why don't you boys just change here - and remember to take off your watches - and Brenda and I will change upstairs, grab some towels, and meet you down in five minutes?"

Jason nodded, the thought of sitting in a hot tub with Elizabeth allowing him to do little else.

The girls disappeared and were down in under ten minutes dressed in their bikinis and holding four fluffy towels.

"Here," Brenda said, shoving one at Sonny as Elizabeth handed one to Jason. She wrapped her own around her shoulders and discarded the slippers she wore around the house. Next to her, Elizabeth was doing the same, draping the fluffy red terry cloth over her shoulders and hugging it tight in the center as Sonny and Jason just stood by, confused.

"Um, where are we going?" Sonny asked, hesitantly mimicking Elizabeth's movements.

"Outside," Brenda announced, already opening the screen door that led to a screened patio which opened into the back yard.

"What?" Sonny asked. "Out _there_?"

"It's snowing!" Jason added, holding his yellow towel over his shoulders.

"Gee, thanks for that, Einstein," Elizabeth responded playfully as she shoved both boys to the door. "Just follow Brenda."

Brenda took a deep breath before opening the patio door. The second she did, she leapt out into the inch of snow that had accumulated, biting off the shrieks that threatened to escape as her toes wiggled in the freezing fluff. Sonny and Jason were pushed out next, and followed quick on her heels as she raced to the waiting hot tub. Elizabeth checked the lock and sprinted after them, careful not to make too much noise with her yelps as she bounded down the steps that led to the tub.

Brenda discarded her towel on one of the wicker chairs before jumping in, and Sonny and Jason followed suit. Elizabeth came last, tossing her towel on the farthest chair and carefully getting in. The water was boiling, and also too high for her to sit comfortably in. Jason couldn't help but snicker as the petite brunette drew her legs up and sat on them, the water now an inch below her chin.

"Wow," Sonny breathed, staring out at Brenda's enormous backyard now blanketed with glittering snow and noting how his breath froze in the air even though the rest of him was submerged in warm water. "This is really nice."

Brenda smiled in satisfaction. "Yeah. It was either this or a pool, and I chose this."

Sonny grinned. "Good choice."

"I think so, but sometimes I look at it in the summer and think, 'What was I thinking?'"

Next to her, her tentative boyfriend shrugged. "Well, you can always come over and hang out at my house - we have a pool."

"Oh, yeah," Brenda mused, tapping her chin as her face broke into a dazzling smile. "Well, that settles it - I know where I'll be living this summer."

Jason opened his mouth, ready to unleash one zinger or another, but then closed it. "Too easy," he confided in Elizabeth when she nudged him questioningly with her elbow.

"Remember that time Moose jumped into the pool and Lexi had a heart attack?" Elizabeth laughed, remembering Sonny's summer pool party from last year. Jason must have been there, but she hadn't noticed him at the time, and Elizabeth decided that she must have been temporarily blind during junior year.

As if in answer to her question, Jason began to chuckle. "That was the best," he chortled. "And your mom came out because Lex was screaming, and tried to get the dog back in the house but he wouldn't listen to anyone-"

"And we all started yelling, 'No, Moose! Go, Moose!' and swinging our arms around like maniacs," Sonny joined in, leaning his arms against the outside of the tub. "Poor dog was so confused."

"He's a great dog," Elizabeth reflected, her lips curving into a slow smile at the mention of Sonny's spirited pooch.

"What breed is he?" Brenda wanted to know as she pulled her hair up into a bun.

"He's a curly-haired Black Lab," Sonny replied, kicking up the water by swinging his legs. "He's freaking huge."

"No kidding," Elizabeth agreed, and Jason watched in fascination as she regally swept up her wavy chestnut locks into a loose bun and fastened it in place with the same red bear trap he'd found in the dresser.

Sonny snickered. "He loves to tackle Beth," he explained to Brenda. "Every time she comes over - Pow!" He made a smacking motion with his palm. "And then he goes crazy and starts licking her, and only Ric and my dad are strong enough to pull him off."

Jason's mind mused over the injustice of a dog being so free of societal proprieties as to lick its visitors - one in particular - and he was jolted out of his reverie only when Elizabeth slid a short distance across the bench and leaned into the crook of his shoulder, still shaking with laughter at the memories.

"Remember when it was Ric's wedding anniversary?" she asked Sonny, her eyes glowing. "And he was home from Texas?" She turned to Brenda, shaking her head ruefully. "I show up with cookies, right? I rang the doorbell and Ric answered it. So he gave me a hug and I said congrats and all that, and I go to hand him the cookies, and all of a sudden - out of nowhere - Moose comes _barreling_ down the hall and smacks into both of us. The plate - thank God it was disposable - just goes flying and the cookies fall all over the kitchen and this dog is just _leering_ over me, licking my face and tickling me with his feet. And then Sonny's parents and Ric's wife come running down the stairs to see what's wrong because I am screaming to beat the band - well, technically, I was squealing because he was tickling me - and it took both Ric _and_ Sonny's dad to pull that big lug off of me."

Sonny was laughing heartily now, leaning his head back against the rail. He snapped upright when Elizabeth's foot made contact with his knee, still chuckling.

"And what is this one doing?" Elizabeth demanded, playfully glaring at her friend. "Standing by the sink and laughing his butt off. Didn't even try to help."

She shook her head reprimandingly at him and Jason laughed when Sonny just shrugged.

"What did you expect? Those cookies weren't for me, after all - what did I care?"

"I've made you cookies plenty of times!" Elizabeth cried indignantly, kicking her leg at him again.

"No you haven't," Sonny disagreed, sending a wave in her direction. The snow was still coming down, and a light layer had settled on his head, making his dark hair a gleaming silver in the dark night.

"OK, you're right," Elizabeth smirked. "And it's a good thing, too - you don't deserve any cookies." She glared pointedly up at Jason as soon as the words left her mouth. "And no off-color comments about Sonny getting cookies, either."

"Great - suck all the fun out of my life."

She laughed, hitting him lightly on his bare chest. She was being forward with him, she knew that - under normal circumstances, she would not have dreamed of cuddling up next to him in the hot tub. But these weren't normal circumstances - things had been going so perfectly in Clover, and she and Jason had really made progress. So she decided it was okay, and shoved her guilt at her flirtatious behavior aside. And besides, Jason didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, his hand was already underwater, sneaking toward her waist...

Elizabeth reached down and grabbed his hand, threading his fingers with hers and giving him a gentle shove that let him know she was wise to his games.

He grinned sheepishly down at her, his eyes twinkling silver in the night. "Can't blame a guy for trying."

Her smile was one of disbelief, and she just shook her head at him while burrowing into his shoulder once more. His hand rose from the water and fell on her shoulder as it always managed to and he massaged slow, absent circles against it.

Sonny and Brenda had been watching this exchange keenly, and offered the pair two Cheshire Cat grins when they looked up.

"I never knew you were one for PDA, Jase," Brenda teased, flicking a few drops of water at him.

"Can it, midget."

"Jerk-face."

"I'm warning you, Jason-" Sonny shook his finger in what he hoped was a menacing manner.

"Give it up, Sonny," Elizabeth snickered. "Jason here's found his spine."

Jason laughed, his hand never moving from her shoulder. "Are you saying I was his lackey before?"

"No," Elizabeth assured him. "More like minion."

Jason's lips curved into a mock scowl and he gently squeezed her shoulder as she laughed. When she threatened to pull away, he ceased and pulled her right back into place.

There was a lull in the conversation which Sonny felt he had to fill by cursing the weather.

"Damn snow."

Brenda nodded, looking up at the sky. "It's April, for crying out loud. We were home free for months, and just as spring is about to hit, we get _this_."

"At least it's wet, " Elizabeth supplied. "It's not going to stick much more. And it'll melt in no time, especially since the forecast said we'll be warming up as soon as this cold front moves on."

"I like the snow, actually," Jason sighed, stretching his arms out behind him. His head was tilted back, his eyes closed, and Elizabeth watched in silence as tiny snowflakes floated lazily down and claimed a spot on his handsome face. "Reminds me of Idaho when I went skiing with my dad and my cousin Ned."

"You went skiing?" Brenda asked, interested. "My father's always trying to get me to go, but I keep turning him down. It scares me," she added defensively when Jason shot her a quizzical look as if to say, _what sane person would turn down skiing?_

"It's a lot of fun," he assured her. "When you go flying down those hard slopes with nothing but the wind whistling past your ears and slamming into your face...Oh, I can't even describe it. It's amazing."

Elizabeth smiled when he spoke of the wind, remembering their slow-dance at the _Four Leaf_.

"Me and Ned must have gone up and down those slopes all day long," he continued, brushing his hair back from his eyes. "My dad, on the other hand, just stood sideways on the mountain, not moving a muscle, and just told everyone he was catching his breath, like any minute he was going to go swooping down the mountainside when in reality he'd still be there two weeks later." He shook his head ruefully. "Crazy man. And then he tried snowboarding with me and Ned. What a disaster!"

"Oh, dear God," Sonny guffawed. "Mid-life crisis or something?"

Jason nodded. "Must have been."

Brenda snorted. "Those are a riot."

Elizabeth agreed. "And quite profitable, actually. When my dad went through his, he bought a Mustang. Super-sweet one. And then he decided it wasn't enough, so he bought this big-screen television and this amazing Mac laptop because...well, OK, I still don't know why, but he bought a ton of cool stuff. And the bottom line was that I got to keep everything but the car, although I _am_ allowed to take it out sometimes."

"Wow," Brenda whistled. "Pay dirt."

"Big time."

"The only thing I remember about my dad's mid-life crisis is that he wanted to get buff," Brenda said slowly.

There was a brief silence before everyone burst out laughing, Brenda included.

"It was the funniest thing ever," she got out between laughs. "He turned half the basement into a gym and I'd go down there and see him in his European sweats trying to benchpress. I almost had to call the paramedics once."

"What happened?" Elizabeth asked, thinking of how Mr. Barrett didn't look any more muscular.

"He gave up," Brenda shrugged, "and went back to fishing. But still, the MLC was damn funny."

"I have a feeling we're going to have to deal with those all over again during the summer," Sonny broke in, rolling his eyes. "I don't know about you guys, but my parents are already freaking out, even though I'm only going to NYU."

"Yeah," Elizabeth replied, furrowing her brows. "I've been meaning to ask you - why are you going there? Dude, you got into Yale."

Sonny shrugged. "I didn't really like the environment at Yale. I know that sounds kind snobby, but it's just weird. And plus, NYU is going to pay full tuition and stuff since I'm going to - most likely- be the valedictorian. They'll totally set me up for undergrad, and I figure that I can always transfer out or do graduate school somewhere with a bigger name."

Elizabeth was nodding her head slowly. "Makes sense. OK."

Jason was shaking his head disdainfully at his best friend. "Valedictorian. You nerd."

Sonny didn't say anything in reply, choosing to just roll his eyes at the joking remark.

"So where are _you_ going, Jase?" Brenda asked, crossing her legs primly.

Jason let out a long sigh, and Elizabeth watched the way his chest rose and fell. "Uh, either the University of Illinois or Boston University."

"Why Illinois?" Brenda asked, wrinkling her nose. "That seems really random."

Jason shook his head. "No, not really - they're one of the top business schools in America."

Brenda shrugged. "So what're you leaning to at this point?"

"Honestly?" he asked. "Boston. I don't know if I want to move that far away."

Sonny nodded, smirking at Elizabeth. "Well, Beth has no problem whatsoever," he teased knowingly. "She can't wait to get away."

"Where are you going?" Jason asked, peering down at the petite beauty in his arms.

She was biting her bottom lip as she always did when she was thinking or nervous, and he discovered a new personality quirk of hers that he found absolutely endearing. "Well, my parents want me to go to Johns Hopkins because they want me to go into medicine," she explained. "But I don't really want to. I didn't like the school that much - I don't think it's the one for me."

"Which school _is_ the one for you?" he asked, his fingers gently stroking her upper arm.

"Stanford," she replied instantly without skipping a beat. "Beyond all doubt, Stanford."

"Have you been accepted?"

She shook her head slowly. "Not yet. Their website said that it should be coming literally any day now."

"Ooh," Brenda crowed, rubbing her hands together. "Anticipation!" Noting the apprehensive look on her best friend's face, she was quick to reassure her. "Don't worry, Beth - you'll get in."

"No way you won't," Sonny chipped in, nodding his head firmly.

"They'd be crazy not to accept you," Jason announced, his voice strong and resolute. "You have nothing to worry about."

Elizabeth continued mauling her bottom lip. "I sure hope so."

"I know so, Little One," he corrected her, wagging a finger at her nose. "So remember what you once told me? Don't be nervous."

She smiled at his words. "Did I really say that? Man, I am such a hypocrite."

Sonny and Brenda laughed easily, twining their fingers together under the warm water.

"So, Beth," Sonny asked, "What's your second choice?"

Elizabeth thought for a moment. "I don't really know," she said finally with a twinge of guilt. "I applied all over, but I don't really know. I guess it would be the University of Chicago. Brenda and I visited it over the summer."

Brenda nodded. "Good school. I think you'd fit in there, too, but Stanford is definitely _my_ first choice."

"Gee, that makes two of us," Elizabeth teased, chuckling when Brenda stuck her tongue out at her. "That was a fun trip, though."

"I feel a story coming on," Sonny prodded, grinning at her.

Brenda just shook her head. "Oh, man."

Elizabeth bit her lip again, smiling nervously at Sonny. "There's a story all right."

Sonny was confused, and darted a glance at Jason to see if he knew what was going on. "So? Go on."

Elizabeth sighed, stretching out and leaning more comfortably into Jason. Her nose was already frozen and she rubbed her warm fingers over it. "Well, we took the tour of the campus and then decided we wanted to go shopping on Michigan Avenue."

"But of course," Sonny interrupted, rolling his eyes at Brenda who wasted no time in shoving him lightly.

"So we finally catch a bus - the number 6, just like we needed - and we're talking away, waiting for our stop. But the bus is winding through the town and making it's way even deeper into the South Side, the most dangerous part of Chicago. And then it stops at this one street corner and the lady behind us is like, 'That's it, girls, end of the line!'. And we look at each other in pure terror."

"It was _bad_," Brenda agreed, shaking her head. "It was seriously so dangerous - I still haven't told my parents about that."

Sonny was snickering now and she smacked his shoulder. "Hello? Think about it - two high school girls, little ones at that, stranded on the bad side of Chicago with a lot of money. It was _not_ good."

Jason nodded in agreement, his jaw set and brows slightly furrowed. "It's not a joke, Sonny - something could have happened to you two," he added, directing the last part to Elizabeth. He didn't even want to _think_ of all the terrible things that could have happened - and their parents had absolutely no worries about letting their daughters traipse about in a different state?

"Woah, Jason," Elizabeth cut in, sensing his agitation. "Yeah, we get that it was dangerous, but it's not like we planned it. It just happened - we ended up taking Number 6 Southbound instead of Number 6 Northbound. How were we to know?"

"So what happened?" he asked, trying to lighten his tone, but unable to stop from thanking God that both girls had escaped the situation unharmed and were able to laugh about it to this day.

"We went to the front of the bus and talked to the bus driver, and she told us to take the bus across the street," Brenda continued. "We were about to step off but as soon as we faced the door, we saw this man peeing on a telephone pole."

Elizabeth grimaced at the memory.

"And our driver yelled at him, too - something about not having any respect for himself. So we ran across to the other bus, and the driver told us his bus wasn't the right one and to wait on the corner for the next bus. And the next bus that pulled up was the same one we were on - apparently the driver didn't realize she'd be switching! So she let us on without paying-"

"Because we had absolutely no change," Elizabeth interrupted.

"And we finally got to Michigan Avenue and blew a significant chunk of our fathers' money."

"Woah," Sonny whistled. "Quite a story." He glanced at Jason across the hot tub. "Just remind me to teach you about bus and train schedules."

Elizabeth burst out laughing. "Yeah, good idea - we don't have much luck with trains, either."

"What are you talking about?" Jason asked suspiciously. "Is this another narrowly-escaped-death story?"

"No, no," Brenda reassured him. "We went to New York once last year to check out the Van Gogh exhibit."

"It was me, Bren, Lexi, Lauren, and Sydney," Elizabeth continued. "So we ended up taking the train down there, and it wasn't so bad - it took about two hours from Port Charles. So we get down there in the morning, check out the museum - _Starry Night_ was even more amazing than I could have imagined - and shopped a bit in Manhattan before taking the train back."

"And apparently the last train stop is Rockford," Brenda cut in. "It's the end of the line. So we're on the train and having so much fun that we totally missed our stop."

"What?" Sonny asked. "You missed it completely?"

"How freaking hard is it to listen out for 'Port Charles'?" Jason demanded, wincing and shutting up immediately when Elizabeth lightly smacked his chest again. This time, however, he captured her hand in his and held it to his chest, pretending to be oblivious to her startled look and paying attention to Brenda instead.

"Shut up, Jase," she tossed back before continuing. "So we eventually figure it out by asking another family, who wasn't too pleased with us because we were making way too much noise, and they told us we were almost at the end of the line."

"We told the conductor what happened," Elizabeth broke in, "and he told us to sit in the first car because the train would be going back anyway. We finally got home about an hour later than we planned to."

"You girls are ridiculous," Sonny huffed. Brenda shot him a disapproving glare and he shrugged his shoulders. "What? You are."

"Clown story."

"Damn."

"Thanks, Beth. He gets a little out of control sometimes."

"No prob. You just have to rein him back in."

"I like how you're talking about me in third person."

"Shut up."

"What were we talking about, again?" Jason cut in.

"Trains and buses," Brenda informed him, casually looping an arm around Sonny's neck. He looked up at her in surprise but it was fleeting, as a satisfied smile crept onto his face and he snaked an arm around her waist.

"Cars are much better for you two, then," he asserted. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he pointed at his best friend. "Dude, Jase, remember when you got hit by that car in Miami?"

Jason groaned. "Wasn't that the most random thing ever?"

"Oh, my gosh," Elizabeth exclaimed. "What happened? Were you okay?"

He shrugged his shoulders dismissively, trying to dispel her fears. "Yeah, seriously, it was nothing."

"What happened?" Brenda inquired, her eyes wide and round.

"We were walking down the street in Miami, Florida," Jason began as Sonny smiled. "And just so you know, Miami drivers are completely psycho. Apparently, they don't believe in stopping for stop signs. The thinking down there seems to be that if you stop at a stop sign, the other motorists will assume that you're a tourist and by that virtue alone, unarmed, and they'll help themselves to your money and medically valuable body organs."

Elizabeth giggled, listening closely to his humorous account of events.

"Seriously. And they're not much better at stoplights. Green means to proceed. Yellow means to proceed much faster. And red, naturally, means to proceed while gesturing fanatically."

Brenda burst out laughing, shaking her head at Elizabeth as she did so as if to say, _do you believe this guy!_

"So, anyway, there we were, two bumbling tourists from New York," Jason continued, grinning at Sonny, "who actually expected these drivers to stop at stop signs. The result was basically that this woman driver had to slam on her brakes as we were in the middle of the cross walk, and I had to leap backwards like a character in a cartoon movie on rewind, and her car banged my knee."

"Don't worry," Sonny assured Elizabeth, whose mouth had long ago fallen open on a silent gasp. "He was fine. It was actually pretty funny."

"Yeah, nothing too serious," Jason nodded. "Besides, since my parents are doctors, I was able to remember what leading medical authorities say to do if you're involved in an accident or whatever - punch the car."

Sonny snorted. "It's true."

"You really did?" Brenda asked in amazement.

Jason nodded. "Yeah, I punched the car while pointing at the sign and yelling, 'THERE'S A FRICKING STOP SIGN'!"

"Tell 'em what she did, Jase," Sonny goaded, his dimples appearing as he grinned.

"She rolls down the window," Jason chuckled while rubbing his chin. "And expressed her profound regret by shouting, 'DON'T HIT MY - unladylike word - CAR, YOU - very unladylike word-!'"

"Oh, dear Lord," Brenda laughed. "You're kidding!"

"She said that?" Elizabeth asked incredulously. "But it was her fault!" Jason just shrugged, smirking at Sonny. "So what did you do?"

"I just walked a bit down the crosswalk where Sonny was so that I was closer to her window, and I said, 'Oh, I'm sorry about hitting your car with my fist, lady. It should have been a frickin' hammer'. And then we just walked off."

"Did you get her license plate number?" Elizabeth demanded. "You could have pressed charges."

Sonny grinned. "How stupid do you think we are? Of course we got the number!"

Jason laughed. "Yeah, we just filled out a report and that was that. I would have loved to see her face when the cops came knocking on her door."

Brenda nodded her head firmly. "Serves her right."

Many more stories followed that night as the foursome enjoyed the freezing evening in the hot tub. Brenda related stories about how she once hid a stray dog in her room for a week, and then one day when her mom was doing laundry, it somehow escaped from her room and jumped in the laundry basket, causing Mrs. Barrett to almost faint away.

Jason regaled them with stories of fairly growing up in General Hospital - rollerblading down the halls, playing hide-and-seek with his little brother, and generally running amok with the inhabitants of the childrens' wing.

Sonny related stories from his trip to Cuba and how he almost got trampled by a donkey, and Elizabeth told them of when she and her older sister had sneaked out of their house - from their second-story bedrooms - and organized a spontaneous party at Sarah's best friend's house. Their mother needed the car in the morning, though, so Sarah and Elizabeth pulled in around five, and at six their mother was in the driveway and ready to go. Amazingly, she never realized that the car was already warm.

Jason had laughed in amazement as Elizabeth told one story after another, and he had called her a rebel. She'd giggled in agreement, confiding to them that the first thing she had done when they'd moved into their house in Port Charles was check to see if the screen in her bedroom window came out.

Brenda teased Sonny relentlessly about his squeaky-clean reputation, and the dark-haired boy had blushed until he remembered an event that proved to his friends that he most certainly was not as angelic as they believed.

With dimples out in full force, a grinning Sonny boasted of the time - earlier this year - when he had cut off a cop while driving. He laughed as he told them of how he changed lanes before a signal and pulled to a stop, and heard a horn. Looking back, he saw Officer Smiley raising his hands in a profane gesture. He had laughed all the way home, still unable to believe he had actually done that.

The stories continued long into the night until Elizabeth looked at Sonny's watch on the nearby chair and saw that it was almost midnight. She reluctantly pulled out of Jason's arms and crawled out of the tub, shivering as the cold April air swirled about her. Within ten minutes, all four of them were inside and partially dried off, and within half an hour they were all standing at Brenda's door, waving goodbye and bravely stepping out into the snow.

Their parents, thankfully, weren't too upset at the fact that they arrived home late. Elizabeth and Brenda's parents weren't even home by the time the party ended, but Sonny and Jason's were. So after spending some time with the folks, or in Elizabeth's case, her tabby cat, the kids drifted off to their bedrooms and fell fast asleep, not to keen about having to wake up to an alarm clock the next morning and begin the rest of the school year.


	10. Heard It Through The Grapevine

**Heard It Through The Grapevine**

_This takes place on Monday, the day after the hot tub party and the first day back at school._

The bell for first period resounded through the halls, but none of the seniors moved a muscle in the direction of their classes. It was the first day back from spring break, and no one was in any hurry to 'get their learn on', as Jason so aptly put it.

At the moment, Jason was nowhere to be found, which was strange. While he wasn't the first student in the building by any means, he always managed to get to school at the last possible minute that allowed him to visit his locker and wrestle with Brendan before class.

Instead, Brendan was sitting on the floor in front of his locker, unconsciously wondering where his sparring partner was as his eyes raced across the dense text of his Physics textbook. His teacher, Mr. Baier, was a crazy old man – quite the eccentric – and Brendan knew he'd ask oral questions today in hopes of embarrassing his lethargic students. And after having nothing to say in response to all of Baier's questions except the ever-popular "_Uhhh_," Brendan wanted to brush up his formulas before class.

There were five minutes between the first bell and the beginning of class, and the students, especially the seniors, were used to taking advantage of that. They usually never moved until there was one minute left, sprinting through the halls and barreling down the stairs at breakneck speed. It was what they had been doing for their entire four years at PC High, and it wasn't anything strange to see a tall senior boy racing down the hall as if he was trying to catch the Roadrunner, his backpack in one hand and the other hand holding up his baggy pants to prevent him from mooning the hall monitors.

No one seemed to mind this no-holds-barred race. It was a tradition reserved especially for the seniors, for some reason; none of the other classes had the unique problem of having only thirty seconds to race from the third floor all the way down to the basement. Whereas it would have been impossible for the other three grades, the seniors viewed such a challenge as nothing out of the ordinary. Their lockers had been on the top floor of PC High since their freshman year, and they were used to clambering down three flights of stairs and an additional flight for the basement. Even the senior class shirt jokingly commented on their predicament, boasting the equation, "Four years of high school times three flights of stairs equals the best legs in town".

There were still four minutes left until the bell, and none of the students were showing any interest in their upcoming kamikaze mission. Some were asleep in the nooks and crannies of the hallway, others were sitting in large groups on the floor and talking. Still others were sipping coffee and trying desperately to stay awake.

Sonny finished up at his locker and zipped his backpack shut. He spied Brendan on the floor nearby and sauntered over, slinging his green backpack on the tiles and sitting down on top of it.

"Hey, Brend-o," he grinned, jostling his friend on the shoulder.

Brendan looked up from his text in surprise, his eyes wide behind the lenses of his silver glasses. The stunned look on his face bled away when he recognized the intruder.

"How's it going, Sonny?" he smiled in response, fighting back a yawn. He glanced at the clock in the hall and snapped his book shut. Three more minutes weren't going to save his life or anything. "How was your break?"

"Pretty good," Sonny nodded, struggling to keep from letting his grin spread too wide. "What about you? Where did you guys go?"

"Me, Jenny, Jeff, Lauren, Ryan, and Mon went to Cancun," he replied. "It was great. Boiling, but great."

"See anyone else there?" Sonny asked, already knowing the answer.

"Oh, yeah," Brendan nodded emphatically. "I saw Johnny and Kyle and a couple other cross country kids, and about twenty or so other kids from PC."

Sonny nodded. "I thought so."

"So you never told me where you went."

"I went to North Carolina," Sonny smiled. "Knew a nice little place there."

Brendan nodded, despite not really having a clue as to what Sonny was talking about. "How was the weather?"

"Perfect," Sonny sighed, his mind already flashing back to quaint, serene little Clover. "Everything was perfect."

Brendan was smiling at the far-off look in his friend's eyes. "Well, that's good – sounds like you had a great time. Everyone needs one of those 'perfect' vacations at least once."

"I'll say," Sonny agreed. "And it _was_ perfect. Jason and I are already planning our next trip there."

"Jason was with you?" Brendan asked, not sounding very surprised. As best friends since their tricycle days, there was very little that Sonny and Jason _didn't_ do together.

Sonny nodded. "Yup. We took a plane down and drove back up."

"Did anyone else go down there with y-" Brendan's question was cut off when his eyes landed on two of his classmates that had just stepped into view. Sonny followed his gaze and a ghost of a smirk floated across his lips before disappearing altogether as he fought to keep a straight face.

Jason Morgan had finally made it to school, with two minutes on the clock. And he wasn't alone – the young woman whose steps matched his was none other than Elizabeth.

Sonny almost chuckled as he thought of how their other friends would react to the news of their eventful spring break. After always hearing about Jason's 'outsider' girlfriends – girls from other schools and a couple even from neighboring community colleges – the boys were going to go nuts over the new development of him hooking up with PC High's resident Golden Girl. They'd never let him live it down.

And now Jason was walking in step with Elizabeth, both of them chattering away during their slow walk to his locker. They were clearly in their own universe, as they didn't even notice the strange looks directed at them from all ends of the hallway.

Sonny's eyes twinkled when he saw Caroline Benson grab onto the arm of one her friends, leech-like, as she gaped at her friend and his new companion. Carol and Jason had been friends for a while, and Sonny knew the sighting of the new 'couple' came as quite a shock to her.

Nearby, Lauren Pietras was trying to do a handstand against the wall across from the lockers, and even though her long brown locks had formed a curtain over her face, she still managed to glimpse her two friends. Sonny knew that Jason would be in for it later.

Emily Bowen was actively engaged in an argument with her boyfriend Alex – nicknamed Ace - but even she stopped mid-yell to stare at the newest arrivals. Next to her, Ace was also gaping at the couple. Elizabeth was friends with him as well – better friends than she was with Emily – and her choice in companionship threw the young man for a loop.

Taggert and Luke came bursting into view, both of them racing to their lockers in an attempt to grab their books and speed off to class without missing a beat, but the sight of Jason and Elizabeth walking practically arm-in-arm down the hall had them skidding to a stop.

Next to him, Brendan had regained his voice. "Wait – Jason and Beth?" He swallowed, squinting at the couple as if he expected them to vanish into thin air. "I didn't know – are they going out now?"

Sonny snickered, not blaming him for his apparent confusion. "Yup."

His one-word answer had Brendan gaping at him, as if he was the ring-leader of the greatest secret conspiracy known to man. "Since _when_?" he demanded.

"Since North Carolina," Sonny smirked, pushing himself up from the floor and grabbing his back pack by the black straps. Without another word, he turned and walked slowly down the hall, smiling. With one eye on the clock – which read only a minute-twenty to go – and one eye on his friends, Sonny was able to gleefully watch the scene unfold before him.

He could tell Elizabeth was teasing Jason by the way her eyes were sparkling and her nose was crinkling. Her nose always crinkled when she made fun of him, and it was just another one of her personality quirks that Jason found absolutely adorable. But not as adorable as the way she mangled her lip whenever she was thinking or nervous – she had to have been going through chap stick like nobody's business.

Sonny watched as Jason turned his head away, trying to fight away a smile despite Elizabeth's relentless teasing. And then he was facing her, lightly pushing her back but moving with her, never increasing the distance between them.

Her back hit the lockers with a clang, but she was still laughing, her blue eyes still sparkling with mirth. He leaned forward, playfully glaring at her and pretending to grab her. She just kept giggling, and pushed him back a fraction of an inch, just enough to get him to put his hands down and not enough to put more space between them. He gave up trying to scare her and settled for latching gently onto her waist, playfully giving her a shake. She stepped on his toes and he quickly withdrew his hands, trying to reach for his lock without tearing his eyes off of her.

Jason's locker was the one right next to the ones Elizabeth was leaning against, and she chattered on as his fingers adroitly flipped the combination lock open. He dumped his books in, not even paying attention to which ones he was grabbing because he was too busy watching her. They were still laughing and teasing each other, with as much familiarity as if they'd been spending almost every waking minute together.

And they had – but their classmates didn't know that. Carol was about ready to have a heart attack, and Sonny was afraid that Emily would soon go into cardiac arrest herself. Even Marcus and Luke stood rooted to the floor, all consideration for the school bell gone.

Jason shut his locker door with a bang, and Elizabeth pulled herself forward and away from the lockers. Sonny saw Carol size up the moment and just as the tall blonde decided to seize it and ambush her two friends, the school bell resounded through the halls.

"Crap," Jason muttered, backing away from Elizabeth. "I have to make it down to the science wing in no time flat because class just started."

Elizabeth waved him on, urging him to make a run for his classroom. "Go, I'll catch you later – I have Español right here." She was gesturing to the room directly across from her. "Go – Baier's always late to class, but still. _Go_, Jason."

She didn't need to order him anymore; Jason smiled at her, tipped his head, spun around, and was racing off to his Physics class. Brendan, though in the same class, could do little but sit in front of his locker, trying to decide if what he just saw had really happened.

Sonny smirked at him as he approached his Spanish class. "Aren't you late, Brend-o?"

Brendan snapped out of his trance with an apprehensive look at the clock, and quick as a flash, the slender newspaper editor was on his feet and making a beeline for the stairs Jason had just tumbled down.

Sonny smirked as he neared Elizabeth, who was holding the classroom door for him. As he passed her, he winked and shot her his signature dimpled smile.

"Get used to _that_ reaction, Bonnie."

She rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder, pushing him into the room where Mr. Lewis was already instructing everyone to get out their _Practica_ to correct homework.

"I wouldn't sound so smug, Clyde – no one's found out about you and Bren yet."

A few pairs of eyes near the door flew up at their hushed conversation.

"_Who_ and Bren?"

Elizabeth nudged Sonny triumphantly on the shoulder, wiggling her eyebrows at him as they took their seats next to each other. "Exactly."

* * *

The bell for third period rang and Sonny made his way from the basement to the Main Office. Today was the day he had to give a special Student Union announcement over the intercom system after the regular announcements. Their organization had been approached by a local food-packing charity that packed lunches for poor inner city kids, and they had been asked to participate in a paper bag drive. The goal was to accumulate 20,000, and even though PC High boasted only fourteen hundred students, Sonny knew the tentative goal could be more than doubled. And it was facts like that which made him so proud to be the president of such a caring and generous student body.

He had just ascended the flight of stairs from the basement up to the main floor when he was jostled from behind by two pairs of strong arms. Looking back in surprise, he found himself face to face with Luke Spencer and Marcus Taggert.

"OK, Sonny," Luke began, trying to get a better grip on the textbooks he carried in his free hand. "It's time for you to level with us."

"Yeah," Marcus broke in, inadvertently shoving some small, spectacled, rollie-backpack-lugging freshman into the wall as the three boys walked down the hall. "Word around the halls is that you and Brenda are a thing now."

Sonny almost choked on his own saliva. "What?" he croaked, struggling to keep up the pace with both Luke and Taggerts' arms draped across his shoulders. "How could word have gotten around so fast? It's only third hour!"

Luke shrugged. "It's the Word, man. No one can deny its power. Even if there's absolutely no substance to it – as is often the case – it still flies. Especially if it's bad, but that's a whole other can of worms."

"And the Word dictates that you and Barrett are an item," Taggert repeated pointedly. "True or not?"

"True."

Both boys fell into silence as the pondered his answer, and Sonny almost sighed with relief when he saw the Main Office.

"Damn," Luke muttered. "Now I have to wear a dress."

Sonny furrowed his brows, certain he heard wrong. "Come again?"

Luke sighed heavily, dragging a hand through the unkempt blonde fuzz he always hoped passed for hair. "Carol told me, and I didn't believe her. Her track record's pretty shady when it comes to rumors, you know," he added defensively. Taggert nodded reassuringly. "And she said it was true, and I said it wasn't. So we did what we always do – we made a bet. And now I have to wear a dress."

Sonny shrugged out from between the two and grabbed the door handle of the Main Office. How news had gotten out so fast, he had no clue. That was one of the problems of being in a small school – nothing could ever be kept a secret. Sometimes it was good, like when they need volunteers for their projects or had to put out other news to the student body. And other times, it wasn't so great.

"Try silk," he advised his crestfallen friend. "I hear it's slimming."

* * *

The bell signaling the end of seventh period resounded through the halls, and the juniors and seniors flooded into the main artery of the building, engaging in what was often called the "canned sardine death march" to get to their lockers. Sophomores and freshmen were still in class – they had lunch in period six, and class during seven-eight, while the upperclassmen had class during six-seven and lunch during eighth.

Elizabeth was already at her locker at the far end of the hallway, trying to cram her books into her congested locker and retrieving her lunch at the same time without being buried under an avalanche of books and papers. Petey was also at her locker, humming _California Dreamer_ from the _Mama's and Papa's_ as she dumped in her notebooks and pulled out some lunch money and her keys.

"See you later, Beth," she smiled at her friend, who was still crouched on the floor trying to wrestle her lunch out of her locker. "And by the way," she added, walking backwards toward the stairs so that she could still watch Elizabeth. "You and Jason? About damn time, girl!"

Elizabeth groaned and, blushing, tried to bury her face into her locker. It was not a wise move, as her nose soon smashed against her Anatomy and Physiology workbook. "Shut it, Petey."

Lauren just laughed and whirled around, skipping down the stairs to the parking lot, leaving Elizabeth to just shake her head. With Lauren, she knew that this was just the beginning of a long series of ribbing and teasing and crude jokes.

But that wasn't too bad, she decided, shoving her lock into the hole and miraculously managing to close it. She'd rather be teased and have Jason than…not be teased. Yeah.

She stood up and grabbed her paper bag lunch, having left her backpack in her locker. She'd have to come up later to grab her text for the next class, but for now, it felt good not to carry her backpack around.

Jason was still at his locker, his head buried inside as he reorganized the contents for maximum efficiency when he only had a few seconds left on the clock. This, Elizabeth had decided a long time ago, was the moment she loved the most, except for after school, of course.

Even back when she thought she didn't have a snowball's chance in Hell with Jason, she loved this moment. Back when Jason had Marketing in first semester and Calculus in tenth hour, she'd race up to her locker after Calc and quickly get her things and start walking for the lunchroom.

Usually, she was lucky – her timing was perfect. As she was walking nonchalantly down the hall, he'd be running up from the catacombs of the school – also known as the basement – and she'd get to see him go to his locker and then she'd walk past. Sometimes, her timing was a little off, and he'd already be done by the time she reached him. That was when he'd walk ahead of her, and she'd get to let her eyes trail from his shiny golden hair to his chapped heels as they flopped in his Jesus sandals. Other times, she would walk right in front of him, and if she really forced herself to admit it, she'd acknowledge the fact that she swayed her hips just a little bit more in that particular situation.

She didn't know what it was about this moment, but she always loved to walk down the hall and see him at his locker, unaffected by the general chaos in the hall, his head buried in the depths of the beige locker.

But now, she didn't have to worry about timing anymore. Because whichever time she arrived at would be the right time. Either that, or he'd be waiting for her.

He heard her footsteps approaching and pulled his head out of his locker, flashing her a grin. "Hey."

"Hey, yourself," she returned smoothly, leaning a jean-clad hip against another locker. "Ready?"

He grabbed his lunch from his locker, waving it at her as he slammed the door shut. Though they often went out to lunch together, Elizabeth was the only reason he ever considered bringing a brown bag lunch. If he stayed in, he normally got cafeteria food – cheeseburger with mustard and ketchup, tater tots, pop-tart, and fruit punch. Nothing more, nothing less. But that required standing in line for ten minutes, and if a packed lunch meant that he'd get to simply sit down with Elizabeth and not waste any idle time, he was all for it.

"Ready."

She pushed away from the locker and matched step with him as they walked down the hall and descended the staircase. She wasn't aware of the smirks or the knowing glances they got along the way; she didn't see how Ace grinned crookedly, how Rose licked her lips in a vain attempt to conceal a smile, or how Brendan tipped his chin at them to Ryan.

Jason didn't say much on the way down the stairs, just concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other and not falling on his face. It was funny how, despite all the time he'd spent with Elizabeth, she still made him feel so nervous and jittery, so utterly and ridiculously self-conscious that he had to stop and laugh at himself. It had never happened with any other girl – usually, he got the feeling that _they_ were the ones that were nervous. But Elizabeth was different, and he didn't mind the perpetual butterflies in his stomach when he was with her because, well, he was with her.

Emily and Carol were chatting by the doors of the library, no doubt about recent developments on the hookup front, as Jason and Elizabeth exited the stairwell and stepped into the hall that eventually led to the Commons, also known as the cafeteria.

Jason sneaked a sidelong glance at Elizabeth as they walked leisurely down the hall. "So, um, do you want to do something this weekend?"

Elizabeth twisted her lips to the side as she looked up at him. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "But I can't – Sonny and I are supposed to go down to the city. There's an anti-war rally going on, and we never miss those."

"An anti-war rally?" he repeated. "Oh, yeah, I read about that in the paper. They're already saying that the turnout is supposed to be huge."

She nodded firmly. "Mm-hmm. After all, the war started about a year after election, and it's still not showing any signs of letting up. Plus, they were supposed to hand over power a long time ago, and that never happened. You can bet that a lot of people are pissed off."

He was watching her carefully as she rambled on. "And what about you? Where do you fit in?"

Elizabeth bit her lip, trying to think of the best way to answer. When she spoke, her voice was honest. "Look, I'm not going to lie – I _have_ political beliefs. Strong ones. But I don't try to force them on anyone, no matter how…adamant I may seem." Jason nodded and she continued. "I'm personally a hard-core Democrat. Obviously, I wasn't old enough to vote in the last election, but I was dead-set against the winner. I had this terrible feeling of foreboding when he was sworn in – kind of like, _what in the world are we getting ourselves into_, you know? And since I wasn't able to voice my opinion in the election, I decided I had to voice it in other ways."

Jason nodded. "Trust me – I totally understand what you mean. More than you know, actually."

"I just decided that I had views and ideas and if I wasn't going to fight for them, no one was," she continued. "So I started attending rallies and signing petitions and stuff. Not all of it was against the President – it was for legislation and stuff. I wrote our congressman so much that his aides probably mentioned me, because I got a personal letter from him. My parents didn't really pay attention, because they didn't really get involved in politics, you know? They still don't. As much as I'm embarrassed to say it, I don't even think they're registered to vote. They just don't care." She shrugged, brushing it off. "So when Sonny and I first became friends, we discovered that we shared a lot of the same political beliefs. His family has a tradition of being hard-core Democrats, so he kind of inherited it from them, so to speak. They're very active in town meetings and stuff, so it was all good. And ever since then, we just ended up doing this sort of thing together."

"What about Brenda?" Jason wanted to know.

Elizabeth shrugged. "Bren has her beliefs, but she doesn't want to align herself with any party, I guess. Her parents are Republican, and she knows that she's not, but then again, she's not willing to call herself a Democrat either. The thing is that she likes certain aspects of the Republican party and certain aspects of the Democratic, so it'll be interesting to see what she does for the upcoming November election."

Jason nodded, processing the information, and now it was Elizabeth's turn to ask him a question.

"What about you?" she inquired. "What's your political preference?"

Jason looked down at her, swinging his lunch bag from his long fingers. "Total Democrat."

Elizabeth's eyes lit up. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah. But get this – the parental units are die-hard Reps."

Elizabeth chuckled. "You're kidding."

"Nope," he sighed, shaking his head. "Needless to say, it makes for some pretty interesting dinner conversations. I swear, ordinary pizza night can turn into crossfire at our house, especially when my sister comes home."

"I can imagine. How do you survive?"

He looked at her with wide eyes. "I'm surviving?"

She laughed, hitting his shoulder. "You know what I mean."

Jason shrugged. "They hate it, actually," he snickered. "That I'm a Democrat, I mean. But even more so, they hate that I'm more liberal than they are."

Elizabeth nodded. "Doesn't surprise me at all."

"I remember my mom once told me that when I moved away for college, my voters' registration wouldn't be valid anymore because I'd be leaving the precinct, and she said that she wouldn't tell me how to re-register or whatever because I'd just vote against her man, and I was like, _What the hell_? It made no sense whatsoever. She said she was joking, but I don't trust her."

Elizabeth laughed easily, and then another thought dawned on her. "Hey, how do you feel about the war?"

Jason sighed heavily. "I was for it in the beginning, but then I just totally lost faith in it. Both the cause, the effect, and the administration, I mean. I think they should turn over power immediately and call our men home."

Elizabeth nodded. "So why don't you join me and Sonny this weekend?"

Jason considered it, wincing. "I don't think I can."

"Oh, come on," Elizabeth wheedled. "Why not?"

"Because I'm kinda grounded from political events for the rest of forever," he admitted hesitantly.

Elizabeth's brows pulled into a deep V. "What? What are you talking about? Why?"

Jason rubbed the back of his neck, thinking of how best to launch into this explanation. "OK, here goes. Do you remember back when me and Sonny went to that Senate Youth Leadership Conference thing?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Middle of junior year. I remember – Sonny told me about it."

Jason smirked. "Well, he obviously didn't tell you _all_ about it."

Elizabeth was watching him with her head tilted. "Go on – I'm intrigued now."

"We shared a room at the Hilton in D.C.," Jason explained. "There were about twenty other kids there, from schools all over America. And on the fifth day, we were told that we'd be meeting with the President of the United States for a special press conference type thing. I'm still not sure what it was."

Elizabeth's blue eyes were as wide as saucers and her bottom lip had found itself in a perilous position between her top and bottom teeth. "Go on."

"So we all got dressed. Dress code was simple – black pants, white shirt, blue jacket, black shoes. So we're all ready and they inspect us to make sure, I don't know, that we didn't have stink bombs in our pockets or something. Okay, probably more like knives or whatever, but it was still pretty stupid." He paused for a moment, snickering. "You know, my parents flew up for a day to see this, too. Oh, man."

Elizabeth's teeth had a death grip on her lip, and she squeezed her fingers into her bagged lunch. "Go on."

"OK. So we're at the White House, the President is standing there, he's giving some speech and everyone's quiet and the cameras are flashing and whatnot. Sonny was next to me, and he was like, 'I so don't want to do this', and of course, I couldn't blame him. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't want to either. So then he took a group picture with all of us, and then we were supposed to stand in single file and shake his hand, and this was all being recorded and stuff."

He licked his lips and his shoulders shook with laughter. "So we're standing in line, inching forward, and Sonny's in front of me. The President shakes his hand and makes some really lame joke, and Sonny gives that _wow, are you stupid, Sir_ laugh. And then it's my turn. But what no one had noticed was that by this time, I had added something to my outfit – a Democrat donkey pin."

Elizabeth's eyes shot open. "You didn't."

He nodded mischievously. "I _did_."

He was rewarded with her amazed laughter. "Oh, my god, you have _got_ to be kidding me! That's amazing! Holy cow!"

"It gets better," he promised, liking the sound of her laugh. "And so then it's my turn, and I shake the President's hand while glancing pointedly – once – down at my pin, and I can't stop myself from saying, '_Bring it on'_. I swear, I'm not even making this up," he added when Elizabeth burst into laughter. "I don't know what got into me, but I said it. And kinda loudly, too. The kid behind me – he was gay, and also against the President – found me later and told me that I was his new hero. And I remember saying it and moving on as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but I swear to you, the man's smile kinda faltered, and he didn't even look directly at the kid behind me in line. It was great."

"Well, I'll tell you one thing," Elizabeth got out, gaping at him in awe. "You're certainly _my_ hero."

Jason smiled cockily, puffing out his chest. "Why, thank you. Took you long enough."

She rolled her eyes at him and beckoned for him to continue. "So? I know there's more – I can see it in your eyes."

"Well," he started, unconsciously biting his own lip. "Like I said, they were recording that for each kid, and my parents saw it. And what's more, they _heard_ what I said." Elizabeth groaned audibly, covering her mouth with her hand. "Yeah. They were completely mortified, and they banned me indefinitely from all sorts of political activity until I'm dead and have been buried for at least three days."

"You can run for Senate then," Elizabeth quipped, recalling the story in the news about a deceased man being reelected into the upper house of legislature.

"Yeah, no kidding," Jason snickered.

"You are…terrible," she finished, shoving him lightly away from her as they neared the library.

"Terribly _amazing_, you mean," he corrected, stepping next to her and giving her a light push.

"You're _ridiculous_!" Elizabeth laughed, trying to shove him again. He dug his heels into the ground and she failed to get any leverage. "Who does something like that, anyway?"

"Your hero, I believe," he replied witheringly. "Isn't that what you said?" His fingers found her waist and she squealed and tried to squirm away when he tickled her.

They were directly across the library now, laughing and fighting and completely wrapped up in each other – literally. From the doorways, Carol and Emily just gaped at them.

"Oh, my god," Emily whistled. "I can say with complete honesty that I _never_ thought I'd see that."

"Me either," Carol agreed. "I mean, it came out of nowhere."

"I know!" Emily burst out, shifting her books to the other hand. "And look at them now!"

The tall blonde shook her head. "They certainly are ones for PDA."

"Would you laugh at me if I said I thought that Jason had a thing for her for a while?" Emily asked hesitantly, her eyes glued to the couple as Jason took a quick look around the halls for any authority figures and then picked Elizabeth up and swung her around, laughing as the petite brunette squealed.

"Actually, no," Carol confessed in a hushed voice as she watched the same scene. "I just can't believe that I didn't see it sooner – Jason and I have been friends for, like, forever, and we hang out all the time. I can't believe I didn't pick up on it."

"He was really secretive about it," Emily reassured her. "Ace said that Sonny didn't even know until only a while ago."

"Are we talking about Jason and Elizabeth?" inquired Lexi Cassidine as she exited the library with a copy of Kafka's _Metamorphosis_ in her dainty fingers.

"What else?" Carol laughed. "They're all _anyone's_ talking about."

Lexi snickered. "With good cause, though, you've got to admit. Those two came totally out of the blue."

"Jason and Beth, you mean?" Felicia Jones asked, joining the huddle. Her blonde curls bounced gaily as she cocked her head to the side, snapping her gum loudly. "I know! I mean, who saw that coming?"

"I heard that Jason's had a thing for her since she came here sophomore year," Lexi said seriously. "And that he made Sonny be friends with her so that he could get to know her through him."

"Really?" Carol asked, already filing that away for future reference.

"Are we talking about Beth and her new _lover_?" came Jenny's cheerfully sinister voice from behind them. The girls spun around and grinned at their friend as she joined the expanding circle. "Because Brendan definitely told me that they spent spring break together."

"Oh, my god!" Emily squealed, bobbing up and down in excitement. "You're kidding!"

Jenny shook her head proudly. "Nope. Brendan heard it straight from Sonny. Said that they spent a full week at the beach." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "One can only wonder just what they'd be doing there, on the dunes by the ocean, him in his trunks, her in her bikini…"

Carol had to bite her lip from screaming out loud in the middle of the hallway – the hall monitors, if they showed up, wouldn't be too pleased. "Oh, man, oh, man!"

"Hey, do you think they're, you know…?" Emily asked, clearing her throat to leave no doubt of the meaning of her words.

"I don't know," Lexi said hesitantly. "They just got together, and Elizabeth doesn't seem like the type…I mean, I don't know her as well as the rest of you guys, but from what I can see, she's a really nice girl. She doesn't seem like the type."

"Well, she doesn't seem like the type that would jump into Jason's arms in the middle of the hallway either," Carol pointed out, "but Em and I just saw that."

Jenny grabbed her arm instantly, her eyes wide. "Are you serious?" When Carly nodded, the tall brunette clapped her hands together. "That settles it – they're together. They've got to be!"

Lexi almost choked at Jenny's bluntness, but the other girls didn't notice.

"Lucky girl," Felicia grinned, crinkling her nose. "What I wouldn't give to have Jason Morgan."

Carol smiled wickedly, causing the rest of the girls to gape at her.

"You're kidding," Emily said in a hushed monotone. "Oh, my god, you are #$ kidding me."

"Interesting choice of words," Carol smirked at her friend. "And no, I'm not kidding." Especially when she hadn't said anything to begin with.

"You've been with Jason?" Jenny demanded. "And you never said anything? Damn it, woman, what were you thinking?"

Carol smiled innocently. "What are you talking about, Jenny dear?"

As Jenny muffled a scream of frustration, Felicia commanded her attention. "You slept with Jason? Well? Damn it, how was he?"

Carol's eyes glittered. She was _loving_ the attention, that was for sure. It didn't really matter that she had only gone to second base with Jason once back in sophomore year – she didn't mind pretending they'd struck a homer. "Well, I'm sure I don't need to state the obvious, but I will – Jason Morgan is an animal."

This sent the girls into a chorus of squeals, all of them demanding details from a suddenly tight-lipped Carol. Emily spun around to search the hallways for their newest it couple, and wasn't surprised to see that they had already ducked into the lunch room.

"You know, I bet they are together," she asserted. "They were all over each other in the hallway – you saw them."

"Man," Felicia sighed. "She's got to be the luckiest girl ever."

"You know, come to think of it," Jenny began slowly. "I thought I heard Caitlin saying that she heard that they'd done it over Spring Break."

"Oh, man – on the beach?"

"They did it on the beach? Woah!"

"Actually," came a voice from behind them. "You've got it all wrong."

The girls all jumped and turned around, staring wide-eyed at Brenda, who was leaning casually against the wall behind them, her backpack on her back and her lunch in her hand.

"The first time they did it was on the track outside, and they've done it about a billion times since. And then right before spring break, Elizabeth found out she was pregnant, and so they got married in North Carolina but didn't tell her parents and now they're renting out an apartment together and plan on living happily ever after."

She took a moment to study their shocked faces, smirking in amusement.

"Or, you know, they slowly became friends and kissed for the first time over break, and right now they aren't even sure if they're a couple or not." She shrugged indifferently, the corner of her mouth curving upwards into a smile. "Take your pick – whichever one sounds more exciting."

With a small laugh, Brenda Barrett sauntered toward the cafeteria to join Sonny and the 'happily ever after' pair for lunch, leaving her friends gaping at her retreating form.


	11. Like A Candle In The Wind

**Like A Candle In The Wind**

_This takes place in early April after the first week back from Spring Break._

"David!" Mr. Cameron Lewis' voice boomed throughout the large auditorium. "That's not yours - the bigger corsages are for the girls. You and Josh need to grab the smaller ones. And I don't care if you don't know how to pin them to your lapel - Brenda will do it."

Brenda helped David Hsieh unpin the yellow carnations from the lapel of his suit jacket and set them on the nearby table. She quickly grabbed a smaller boutonniere from the case the florist had sent over and pinned it to his jacket.

"There," she smiled, smoothing the black fabric over his chest. "You look like a million bucks."

David chuckled easily, his fingers creasing and un-creasing a piece of paper in his hands - his speech for the evening. "Thanks, Bren, I appreciate it. I'd probably prick myself a billion times and bleed all over the stage."

She laughed. "You nervous, Hsieh?"

The tall Vietnamese President of the National Honor Society nodded hesitantly. "Kind of."

Brenda surprised him by smacking his arm. "Well, snap out of it," she scolded. "There's nothing to be nervous about. And besides, you're in front of people all the time. I figured you'd be used to this by now."

"Well, I'm never giving a speech and inducting other students," he pointed out witheringly. "I just hope I don't make any stupid mistakes or trip or something."

The slim brunette before him shook her head at him. Her long brown hair, straightened for the evening and softly framing her face, cascaded over her shoulders, and the movement made the fabric of her form-fitting black dress rustle. "You won't - you'll be perfectly fine."

"Josh, where's the program?" Mr. Lewis yelled, scouring the stage for his Treasurer. "Heck, where are _you_?"

"Right here, Sir," Josh Minohl spoke up, sprinting toward his NHS advisor from backstage. "Lexi's here, just so you know," he added, referring to his Vice President.

"Here I am, Mr. Lewis," came a soft voice belonging to none other than Lexi Cassidine. She was quickly ascending the small flight of stairs up to the stage, her knee-length blue dress swishing around her knees. "I have my speech and Ms. Ward gave me about seventy-five programs."

"Excellent," Mr. Lewis nodded, gesturing to the sixty-eight chairs that were lined up on the stage. "One program needs to be placed on each chair. Do you think you and Josh can do that?"

She nodded instantly. "Sure, no problem."

"Good. Now, where is Elizabeth?" Mr. Lewis' green eyes scanned the auditorium. The seats were still empty, with a few early parents scattered here and there. Movement at the door captured his attention, and Ms. Keisha Ward was beginning to lead the new National Honor Society inductees into the auditorium.

"Seat them in alphabetical order, Ms. Ward," he directed. "Check the list I gave you."

She smiled back and nodded, already sending the children to their seats at the front of the theater. More and more parents filtered in, and Mr. Lewis saw his current NHS members milling around backstage. He walked over briskly to them, scanning the large area to make sure everyone was within earshot.

"All right, guys," he began. The group instantly quieted down as they waited for instruction. "I want you to wait in the tunnel." He was referring to the passageway that led from behind stage to the entrance to the auditorium. "It's big enough for all of you, and when you hear my cue, I want you to come in through the theater doors, walk down the side aisle and onto the stage in single file. You will then shake hands with your President by the podium. Then, you are to take your seats on the stage. And remember to stay in alphabetical order so that we don't have any problems matching your names as we call them out."

The kids nodded and returned to their muted chatter as Mr. Lewis sought out Sonny in the crowd. "Do you know where Elizabeth is?" he asked.

As Sonny shook his head, the blonde boy next to him furrowed his brows. "You mean she's not here?"

It took Mr. Lewis a minute to remember his name, but it came to him - Jason Morgan. "No, she's not. I can't imagine what's keeping her - she's always so punctual. And we have to start in half an hour."

Sonny's eyes darted past his advisor to where Brenda stood on the stage, talking to David. The two of them were laughing easily and David was pointing out to the crowd. When Sonny followed his hand, he saw that the President was pointing out his little sister, who was waving gaily at Brenda.

"Maybe Brenda knows, Mr. Lewis," he broke in. "She's probably your best bet."

Mr. Lewis nodded. "Good idea." The three of them were soon striding over to where David and Brenda stood, and Brenda started when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Brenda, do you know where Elizabeth is?"

She shook her head. "No, sir, Mr. Lewis. I was wondering the same thing."

"Well, we'll just hope she gets here in time," he sighed before motioning to the table. "OK, I need you all to help me clean this off. The only thing on the table should be the matches and the candles. And Brenda, fix the skirt, would you?"

Brenda's fingers instantly flew to the blue skirt of the table and pressed it securely to the white tablecloth. Sonny and Jason quickly cleared off the flowers that the officers wore, with Jason holding onto the large corsage that was reserved for Elizabeth. The extra programs were dumped behind stage and Brenda and David hurriedly straightened the wooden candle stand, anxious to get everything in order as more and more parents filtered in.

The Vice-Principal sauntered onto the stage, straightening his red tie under his dusty brown suit jacket as he did so. Usually, he left the entire function up to Mr. Lewis, but tonight, besides being the induction of the National Honor Society, was also the distribution of academic letters and gold bars.

"So," he asked casually. "Which two officers are going to be handing out the academic awards?"

Mr. Lewis frowned and his eyes darted to the door again. "Well, one of them is right here," he said, dropping a hand on David's shoulder. "The other one - my Secretary - is hopefully on her way."

"Okay," the other man replied slowly. "I have a few instructions, David, that I need to give you, and I hope you'll pass them on to Elizabeth once she arrives." He continued after David nodded, stuffing his hands into his pocket as he listened intently. "I will be reading the names at the podium and there will be a stack of plastic-wrapped letters on the table over there. One of you will distribute the letters, one to each student, and the other one will shake hands. But it's up to you, actually, I should say. If you both want to give letters and shake to keep things moving, feel free to do so. Just remember: give with your left, shake with your right. And the left hand should always be above your right."

"Give with your left, shake with your right," David repeated. "Got it."

The Vice-Principal nodded and wandered off backstage, clapping Sonny on the back as he went.

"All right," Mr. Lewis got out. "It's time for the rest of you to make yourselves scarce."

Brenda, Sonny, and Jason nodded and turned around to join their friends in the tunnel. David, Josh, and Lexi gathered near the front of the stage, shuffling their feet and picking at their folded speeches in their hands.

"Look, Mr. Lewis," Lexi burst out. "There's Beth!"

The three officers, their advisor, and Elizabeth's three friends all turned in the direction she was pointing. Sure enough, there was Elizabeth, unbuttoning her knee-length black coat as she walked, revealing a black skirt and creme sweater with black embroidery. Her hair, rippling in soft waves, had been gathered partly back and pinned in place and she had applied a light layer of makeup to her porcelain skin. In her hand was a folded piece of paper and a program she'd picked up from Ms. Ward.

Jason smiled as she ascended the stairs, almost backstage himself. He waited for her to catch his gaze but she didn't, staring straight ahead at her fellow officers as she walked across the stage. Sonny pulled him back and out of view and they disappeared into the lit tunnel, but not before Jason handed Elizabeth's corsage off to Sydney.

"I'm here," Elizabeth sighed, shrugging out of her coat and dumping her speech on the table. Sydney appeared behind her and squeezed her shoulder with a smile, and Elizabeth gratefully handed her the coat.

"You'll be great, Beth," she grinned at her friend before turning to the three others. "You all will, so don't worry. And lookin' good, by the way." She switched the coat to her other arm and pinned the yellow carnations to Elizabeth's sweater before winking at them all and turning away.

David smiled and watched Sydney scurry off back stage, her long hair bouncing as she did. Mr. Lewis quickly filled Elizabeth in on the order and the procedure, not bothering to ask why she was late. His Secretary was punctual to a fault; if she had been late, there had to be a good reason. And he didn't want to press, especially judging by the look on Elizabeth's face.

Her eyes lacked their usual sparkle as she surveyed the almost full auditorium. In the sea of faces, some of them familiar and some of them not, she finally found her parents who had hurried over to PC High from Mercy Hospital. They smiled at her, waving, and she was barely able to smile back with a limp wave of her hand.

David was watching her closely, his lips pursed together in concern. Out of all the NHS officers, he was closest with Elizabeth. They had been friends ever since she came to PC High, probably because they had all the same classes together. Plus, she was friends with his girlfriend and he saw her often outside of school. And he knew her well enough to know when something was wrong.

Mr. Lewis walked toward the sound box to instruct them to dim the lights in exactly five minutes, and when Josh and Lexi began talking among themselves, David seized the moment to sidle over.

"Hey, Beth," he smiled gently, his black eyes sparkling with concern. "You okay?"

She seemed surprised at first, but then realized that David was one of the few people who could see past her facade of strength. "I..not really."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

His offer was earnest but Elizabeth found herself chuckling. "Here?" she asked, gesturing with a flat palm at the crowd. "It seems a tad inopportune, eh?"

He smirked, seeing the absurdity of the situation. "True. I was just...concerned. Are you sure you're okay?"

She forced a smile even as tears crept into the corners of her eyes. "I'm fine, David."

"OK, not that I believe that, but I'll let it go," he replied quietly, folding his hands behind him as he faced the crowd. In a few minutes they'd have to take their seats and the ceremony would be underway. "Just as long as you fill me in later."

She nodded, her head dropping with a sigh. "Yeah."

He watched her sadly, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "Come on, Beth, it can't be that bad, can it?"

She snorted. "I don't really want to talk about it right now, David."

He accepted her response and withdrew his arm. "That's fine," he assured her. "I just...God, I hate seeing you like this. What happened to the cheerful Elizabeth that I know and love?"

She allowed a small smile, but only shrugged at him.

Mr. Lewis was making his way back to the stage and the lights were slowly dimming, so the four officers made their way back to their seats. They were the only four students on the stage, with sixty-four empty seats arranged neatly in rows behind them.

Mr. Lewis welcomed the parents and students to PC High's NHS Induction Ceremony and Academic Award Distribution Night. The parents all beamed and clapped loudly, and Elizabeth scanned through the crowd, managing to catch glimpses of Brenda and Sonny's parents. Sonny's were sitting next to a blonde woman and a dark-haired man with a young boy that Elizabeth instantly recognized as AJ Morgan.

Mr. Lewis began by introducing the four officers, all of whom stood up and smiled graciously as he did so. Then it was time to bring on the current members and the String Quartet playing on the side of the stage began a new number as the theater doors opened and Elizabeth's classmates walked rigidly down the aisle. Brenda caught her gaze and shot her a dazzling grin, but Elizabeth just tipped her head in reply.

Mr. Lewis began reading their names in alphabetical order as they filed onto the stage, shaking hands with David before finding a seat behind the officers. Brenda quirked a brow at her while she absently shook David's hand and Elizabeth managed to smile back at her. Sonny was a short distance after and he too looked at her questioningly. Elizabeth just offered him a tight-lipped smile and shrugged.

Jason followed several members later, and whispered, "Hey," to her as he passed and shook David's hand. She nodded at him as he stood in front of David, who stood next to her, and simply replied, "Hey, yourself."

Once the NHS members were all seated, Mr. Lewis turned the microphone over to the Vice-Principal, and David and Elizabeth rose and walked to the table to distribute the letters. The younger students filed onto the stage and David and Elizabeth kept up the pace, shaking hands and giving them the letter that they could sew onto their letterman jacket.

"Nervous about your speech?" David whispered to her as he shook hands with a freshman.

"Heck, yeah," Elizabeth nodded. "I don't know if it's any good."

"I'm sure it's better than mine," David chuckled.

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, really, I think it's stupid."

David just scoffed at her. "See, when you think something is stupid, everyone else thinks it's pure genius, so I don't think you have anything to worry about." And it was no joke - Elizabeth's skill with and knowledge of the English language was extremely impressive.

"No, David, you don't get it - I just wrote it five minutes ago, at the stoplight on Park."

David forced back his laughter. "You're kidding me."

"No."

"Well, I wrote mine during lunch today, so we're in the same boat."

She chuckled then, and David smiled to himself, thinking he was on his way to cheering her up.

"I just hope I don't trip and fall," he confided in her.

"You're not the one wearing stilettos, fool."

"True. But these shoes _are_ pretty uncomfortable."

"Try wearing a skirt when it's only forty-degrees outside."

"Ouch."

"Yeah."

There was a pause as they continued smiling at the students before them as they shook hands.

"I hope we don't mess up when give our speeches - you know, Freudian slip and whatnot."

"Yeah."

"And I hope I can actually light the candles - why didn't they give us a Zippo or something?"

"You know, I've decided that I shouldn't hang out with you."

"Why's that?"

"Because we both tend to flip out when it comes to these things, and we're just feeding each other's nerves."

"Yeah."

Another pause.

"I hope my jacket sleeve doesn't catch on fire."

Elizabeth giggled despite herself, earning a confused look from the third to last freshman in the line. "You're too much, Hsieh."

"Too much fun, you mean."

"Oh, indeed. Without a doubt."

Then it was time to resume with the NHS Ceremony. Jason watched David and Elizabeth walk back to their seats, noting the small grin on her face. It seemed genuine and he was glad, but a part of him wished he had been the one to say something funny and make her smile like that. The thought seemed kind of strange to him, especially since he didn't know when or how he had come to care for her so much, and the fact that he didn't even know what she was upset about.

Mr. Lewis introduced David and turned the podium over to him. David stood up slowly from his seat and walked over to the table, lighting first the thick candle in the middle and then one of the slender yellow ones.

"Scholarship," he announced loudly, informing the audience what the candle he had lighted stood for. Claiming the podium, he soon settled into the swing of things and delivered his speech smoothly.

Once he had finished, he introduced Lexi. The tall brunette stood up quickly and strode over to the table. She calmly pulled out a match and struck it on the first try, lighting the second yellow candle.

"Leadership," she spoke up as she faced the audience. She found the podium and delivered a speech that, though beautifully written, was a bit on the long side - three minutes. David's had only been two and a half minutes, and Elizabeth found herself wondering how long her own speech was.

Next was Josh, who strolled over to the table and lit the match on the second try, smiling cockily at his friends on stage when they gasped, thinking he'd be unable to strike the match. The first candle he tried didn't catch, so he quickly lit the only other remaining candle.

_Great,_ Elizabeth sighed. _So the one with the faulty wick is mine. Excellent._

"Character," he announced confidently before delivering his speech. It was shorter than Lexi's and longer than David's, and Elizabeth reluctantly admitted to herself that it was a tad boring. Besides, his reference to Michael Jordan didn't even make sense. But not that anyone cared.

And then it was her turn.

Josh smiled encouragingly at her and she rose from her seat and made her way to the table as calmly as she could. She cursed the black stilettos that Sarah had bought for her when she came home from college on vacation not too long ago. She wasn't used to wearing high heels - she was a flip-flop girl, didn't everyone know that?

Elizabeth was relieved to make it to the table without tripping, and she calmly set down her speech and sucked in a deep breath before reaching for the matches. Mr. Lewis had told all of them to light it a certain way - striking vertically down - and she had already practiced. But still, she had a bad feeling.

She struck the first match.

Nothing.

She turned it slightly and struck it again.

Nothing.

Elizabeth bit her lip as tears threatened to flood her eyes. _Talk about the shittiest day ever. I can't do anything right anymore._

Jason watched her closely from his seat near the table. He saw how her hands trembled, how the match shook in her delicate fingers, how her lower lip was trembling slightly before she captured it with her teeth. And more than anything, he wanted to be able to go up there, light the match for her, and find some way to make her feel better.

But procedure and Mr. Lewis demanded that he stay in his seat, and so he did, although his knees remained tense as if he would spring from his seat at any minute.

Brenda and Sonny were also watching Elizabeth and exchanged nervous glances with each other, both asking with their eyes if the other knew anything about why their friend was so upset.

Elizabeth heard tittering laughter from the crowd on stage and the crowd behind her, but she didn't care. She knew it wasn't malicious. She glared at the match in her hand before turning it slightly and striking it one more time.

Nothing.

With a huff of annoyance, she flung it down on the table. She heard Johnny's distinctive chuckle from the audience, and somewhere on stage, Kyle was doing his best not to laugh. She could just picture his ear-to-ear grin, though.

She plucked another match from the box and struck it against the side of the box.

Nothing.

With another huff of disbelief, Elizabeth set the box down on the table and plunged the unlit match into an already burning candle. It sizzled and caught instantly, and she quickly lit the next candle.

And promptly forgot to announce for the audience's benefit, "Service."

No one seemed to mind - the audience was smiling and chuckling at the charming - and not to mention resourceful - young woman on stage. Elizabeth didn't even register the fact that her all her friends on stage were clapping quietly for her as she made her way to the podium, beaming. But she did hear Kyle Nugent shout from his seat next to Jason, "And _that's_ why she's in NHS!"

The audience laughed good-naturedly and waited for Elizabeth to begin her speech. It took her a minute to bring the microphone down enough to speak into it, and the audience chuckled again.

Jason watched from his seat as she unfolded the paper, her fingers still trembling slightly. The spotlight was on her, beaming down brightly on her face and making her cream colored sweater glow. It cast strange shadows on her skirt, and her shapely legs caught the soft yellow hue. Her stilettos were simple and black and added about three or four inches to her height. She looked simply lovely to him, but then again, he always found himself enchanted by her simple and elegant beauty - especially when she was wearing a green turtleneck sweater and had her hair in braided pigtails while being sprawled across the tiles in front of Sydney's locker.

She was speaking smoothly but he could hear her nervousness. The audience was receptive, though - as she spoke about ringing the Salvation Army bell outside the mall, the kids' eyes widened, as she spoke of an act of charity being a trifle to some but very precious to others, the adults in the crowd nodded. Mr. Lewis was standing behind her at the curtain, his face stern, nodding to himself at her eloquent words.

David didn't hear a word from his fellow NHS members behind him - while they had quietly chatted during some of the other speeches, they hung onto Elizabeth's every word. And he didn't blame them - Elizabeth's speeches were always sensational, and delivered with such shocking self-confidence and resolution that for a moment, it was hard to believe the person orating was a barely five foot girl with innocent eyes and a youthful smile.

Elizabeth's eyes swept across the new inductees as she prepared to finish off her speech. "Human service is in all actuality the highest form of self-interest for the person who serves. For your endless zeal and tireless efforts, you know that you'll have helped the school, the community, and complete strangers. But soon it will dawn on you that perhaps the person you've helped the most is yourself."

There was an appreciative murmur from the crowd - even a few hushed "Amen"'s - but Elizabeth didn't hear them.

"On that token, we welcome you into the prestigious ranks of the Promethean chapter of the National Honor Society. We have great confidence that you will continue in the excellent tradition of selfless service. And for that, _we_ thank _you_."

The audience burst into applause, as did Mr. Lewis and the small crowd on the stage, but Elizabeth didn't register any of it as she covered the two paces back to her seat. She sank down between David and Josh, thanking God that it was over. She was in no mood for this sort of thing right now. All she wanted to do was go home and dig out a pint of Haagen-Dazs.

David rose to claim the podium, flashing her a beaming smile as he did. Mr. Lewis hung back and proudly watched as his four students took command of the ceremony, as they had practically from the beginning. He had taught all of them at one point or another - Lexi and Josh were in his Spanish class and Elizabeth and David had been in his Honors French class. He was very close with all four students and cared for them deeply. It had been his pleasure to work with such a spirited, dedicated bunch as them, and he couldn't help but feel sad that the year was coming to an end and he'd have to let them go.

"Please rise and repeat the pledge after me," David instructed, pulling out the NHS Pledge. A look of confusion crossed his face when the entire audience moved to stand, thinking it was the Pledge Of Allegiance. "Um, I meant the NHS Pledge."

There was a muffled, "Oh," that resounded through the room and pretty soon everyone was chuckling. David led the students through the pledge, swore them in, and he and Elizabeth passed out certificates and pins as Josh and Lexi read names.

The Vice-Principal took the mic and invited everyone to the Commons for punch and cookies, and the ceremony was officially over. Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed her temples. Maybe now she could find her parents and drag them home.

Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder. When she turned around, she was enveloped into a bear hug and folded neatly against someone's chest. When she looked up, it was Kyle.

"Hey, Beth," he smiled gently. "You were great. Good job."

He let her go and David wrapped his arms around her shoulders, giving her a hug from behind. "Yeah, good job," he echoed. His parents were already waving for him and he reluctantly excused himself. "I have to go, but call me if you need to talk."

"I will," she promised, smiling after him.

"I mean it, Webber," he warned sternly. "You've listened to my bitching and moaning too often for me not to return the favor."

She laughed and he slipped down the stairs, instantly disappearing in the sea of parents and students. Elizabeth turned back to find a huge group of kids around her and the remaining two officers, with everyone congratulating them. Josh was shaking hands all around, and practically everyone insisted on giving Elizabeth a hug.

"That was hilarious," Kelly laughed, patting Elizabeth's shoulder. "You officially win at life."

"Good job," beamed Whitney, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Very resourceful."

"Smooth," Luke drawled, gently punching her shoulder.

Next to him, Marcus was still laughing. "Fo' sheezy, Little Mama."

His diction had the desired effect - Elizabeth laughed. "Get out of here, you," she chuckled, pushing him away. He knew she thought it was hilarious whenever he called her _Little Mama_, so he did it as often as possible.

The stage was slowly clearing as everyone made their way to the Commons. Sonny and Brenda appeared out of nowhere, both of them hugging her at the same time.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Brenda asked, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Is everything all right?" Sonny wanted to know, his dark eyes laced with concern.

"It's fine, guys," Elizabeth reassured them. Seeing that they didn't believe her for a minute, she sighed and tucked a lacy tendril of hair behind her ear. "I'll tell you about it later."

Sonny just nodded slowly, not wanting to press the issue. Elizabeth wasn't a downer - she had to be one of the most optimistic people he knew. Even if she wasn't happy, she'd find something to cheer herself up. And the way she looked now...Sonny wasn't even sure he _wanted_ to know what was bothering her.

Next to him, Brenda still watched her best friend carefully. "OK," she got out hesitantly. "Whenever you want to talk, we're here for you."

"I know, guys, I know," Elizabeth smiled. She heard Sonny's mother calling out for him, so she gently pushed Brenda and Sonny toward the stairs. "Go on, get to the Commons. I'll be right there."

They walked off slowly, both of them glancing over their shoulders at her to make sure she wasn't going to have some nervous breakdown as soon as their backs were turned.

Elizabeth sighed for what must have been the millionth time that evening. She was hungry, her throat hurt, her feet were screaming in agony atop the High Heels from Hell, she had a headache coming on, and nothing was right anymore. At that moment, her fondest wish was to curl up in a little ball and not do anything or see anyone.

Still fantasizing about how wonderful it would be to be left alone for the rest of forever, she turned and collided solidly with a tall, hard object. The object apparently also had arms, which instantly seized her waist and steadied her. She braced her hands against the hard plane she had connected with and when Elizabeth looked up, she wasn't too surprised to see that it was Jason.

"You snuck up on me there, Morgan," she noted wryly. "You have a habit of doing that - someone should put a bell around your neck or something."

"But that'll take the fun out of the hunt," he chuckled, his broad hands still wrapped around her narrow waist. She smiled and he gazed down at her, itching to ask what was wrong, but knowing that he shouldn't press. They were at such a tender point in their relationship that any wrong move could have been hugely detrimental. So he didn't push her.

She absently rubbed the fabric of his dress shirt between her fingers. He looked nice when he dressed up. Today he was wearing tan slacks with a brown leather belt and a dark red shirt. Some of the boys wore ties, but Jason didn't. He looked clean and polished, and the light color of his pants seemed to almost match his golden wheat hair.

One hand dropped from her waist and he stepped around her. They were shoulder to shoulder now, with her tucked into his side as the hand still wrapped around her waist rubbed slow circles through the thin fabric of her black skirt. The auditorium was almost empty now, and her heels clicked audibly as they walked off the stage in silence, his arm still draped around her and her fingers securely in the belt loop of his pants.

They were talking softly and didn't notice the pair of blue eyes narrowed suspiciously at them.

The man to whom the blue eyes belonged to turned to his spouse, and when he spoke, his voice was tense and wary.

"Honey? Who's that boy with Beth?"

Caroline Webber looked up from her purse in the direction of her husband's hand. "Oh, Jeff, don't point."

"Who is he?" he demanded, lowering his hand and placing it on his hip.

"I don't know," she replied, not sounding nearly as concerned as he would have liked. "He seems very familiar, but I can't place his face. Maybe he's one of Beth's friends."

Jeff's eyes followed the twosome as they strolled slowly down the stage. The hoodlum - a well-dressed hoodlum was _still_ a hoodlum - still had his arm around his little girl's waist. His poor, defenseless baby! Totally unprepared from such an assault by an experienced, hardened predator.

"Jeff! Caroline!" A woman's excited cry kept Jeff from running onto the stage and defending his little girl from the ill-intentioned hoodlum that was holding her hostage. Spinning around, he saw his old friends and colleagues from General Hospital.

"Oh, my goodness!" his wife exclaimed, instantly hugging the woman who had yelled their names. "Monica! Alan! It's so good to see you again."

Alan Morgan smiled warmly at Caroline before turning to Jeff and shaking his friend's hand. "Hello, Jeff, how is everything?"

"Just wonderful," he replied with a smile, still shaking. "And you?"

"No complaints," Monica smiled, her hand on his wife's shoulder. "We've missed you both terribly."

Caroline smiled. "Oh, the feelings are reciprocated. It's been so long since we all got together."

"Too long," Jeff agreed. "Not like two years ago, when we spent almost every waking minute at the hospital together." After moving from Colorado three years ago, both he and Caroline had worked at General Hospital for a year before transferring over to Mercy two years ago.

Alan grinned broadly. "Those were the good old days," he sighed. "Back when the four of us practically ran the place."

"Management still bad?"

Monica nodded. "Yes, but not as bad as everyone thought it would be. And not as bad as before. Sure, we have our scrapes with them, but it's all right."

Alan quickly changed the subject. A doctor at General Hospital for more than twenty years, he loathed the new administration and board. The only thing he abhorred more than dealing with them was talking about them - who needed that aggravation? "So you still like Mercy? How's that going for you?"

"Pretty good," Caroline smiled. "Although we work more than we used to. They don't have as many surgeons as General Hospital, and they'd rather have us work more than hire anyone new."

"Same story everywhere," Alan sighed. "Trying to get the work of three men out of one. What can you do?"

This time it was Monica's turn to change the subject. "We really must get together and go out to dinner like we used to," she said, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear. "We've missed our wonderful conversations."

"And all the fun we used to have," Alan nodded. He turned to Jeff, grinning. "Remember all the crazy things we used to do right out of Medical school?" Alan and Jeff had gone to Medical school together at Johns Hopkins, and Alan loved to reminisce about their wild days and nights before they both settled down and started their families. Jeff had started his in Colorado while Alan had started his in Port Charles. And at long last, the two had joined up again when the Webbers moved three years ago to Port Charles.

"Not in the front of the wife," Jeff responded jokingly, nudging Alan with his elbow. "What're you trying to do - get me killed? Or worse, castrated?"

Monica laughed, a light tinkling sound in the quiet auditorium. "He hasn't changed a bit, has he, Caroline?"

Caroline shook her head ruefully. "Not on your life."

The foursome stood silently for a while before Alan's eyes lit up. "Oh, I meant to congratulate you - Elizabeth did a wonderful job. Her speech was great."

"Thanks," Jeff smiled proudly. He would have loved to have been able to say that he had helped her come up with it, but that would have been far from the truth. In fact, he didn't even remember seeing her work on it. A pang of guilt hit him as he realized that he hadn't seen his daughter once since the day before yesterday, when they all sat down to breakfast together. Or rather, he and Caroline had sat down for breakfast. Elizabeth had raced from her room to the bathroom to the kitchen and back, grabbed the pop-tart her mother offered her, gulped down the orange juice he had shoved at her, and ran out the door telling them that she had layout after school and wouldn't be home until six. Not that that mattered much - they usually weren't home at that time anyway.

"We're very proud of her," Caroline agreed with a beaming smile. Jeff studied her at length - despite her bright smile, he could still see the regret in her eyes. Regret over the fact that they never seemed to see their baby girl anymore. And in a few months she'd be off at college - hopefully at Johns Hopkins, where both he and his wife had met and studied - and they'd see her even less.

"As you should be," Monica nodded firmly, her eyes sparkling. "She's a remarkable girl." Though she knew of Jason's somewhat involvement with their daughter, she was content not to mention it at the moment. It didn't seem to be the right time or place. But that was only considering that they didn't know already.

Alan didn't trouble himself with worrying over such social proprieties. "Our son certainly thinks so," he beamed. "He's been spending quite a lot of time with her, and admires her very much."

Jeff nearly choked on his own saliva - their _son_? Wait, what was his name? Alan Jr. was the little one...how old was the older one? Wasn't he in college already?

Next to him, his wife's mind was already racing, and at a much faster speed than his own. "Oh, Jason," she managed to get out, trying to look calm and not at all as if she'd just been told that the moon was made of cheese and was already being processed and shipped out by the Wisconsin dairy industry. "They're in the same class, that's right."

Monica nodded, still smiling. Alan just clasped his hands in front of him, not knowing that he would be getting a lecture later that evening.

"Jason?" Jeff croaked.

"Yes," Alan nodded, digging himself deeper and deeper. "I think they walked out of here together not too long ago."

Jeff's blood stopped, turned cold, and then ran in the opposite direction. He tried to control his breathing, which was difficult considering his trachea had constricted to the width of a needle.

Despite all his careful measures and painstaking precautions to hold the boys off and safely away from his youngest daughter, one had infiltrated the defenses. One had managed to sneak in right under his nose. And that was not at all acceptable.

He knew he'd have to move fast to thwart the enemy. The only problem was that he didn't know anything about the enemy except that it disguised itself as the son of his friends.

For some reason, he had always assumed that Jason was several years older than Elizabeth and already at college. And wasn't he married...? Oh, no, wait, that was Sonny's older brother, Dick or Nick or something.

And add that to the fact that Jeff rarely saw Jason - he had only been to the Morgans' house a few times in the three years that he had been here, and Jason wasn't ever around. AJ always was, either digging for dinosaur bones in the backyard or riding around on the dog wearing a cowboy hat. But Jason was always out. And when Alan and Monica stopped over at their house, which was rarely, they never brought the children.

So Jeff understandably felt doubly blind-sided by this new villain in his life - not only was the villain after his defenseless daughter, but he was also the middle child of one of his best friends.

"Well, shall we join the children in the Commons?" Monica asked brightly, not noticing how tightly Jeff's teeth were clenched as he dreamed up ways to completely extricate Jason from his – and Elizabeth's - life.

"Sure," Caroline smiled, a little too brightly, and steered her husband for the door behind Alan and Monica.

"_Spending a lot of time with her?_" Jeff asked seethingly, repeating what his friend had said earlier.

Caroline shrugged helplessly. "Hell if I knew."

Meanwhile, Jason and Elizabeth were walking slowly down the hallway outside the theater, looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows into the inky black sky as they did. They knew nothing of what had unfolded in the auditorium after they had sauntered off the stage in one another's arms.

All Jason knew was that something was terribly wrong with Elizabeth, and all Elizabeth knew was that somehow she felt a little better just by having Jason to lean on.

And the thought scared her - not because it was scary itself, but because it was new. Foreign. She had never needed anyone to lean on before, despite all the things she'd gone through. She always got through her problems. She always relied on herself and she made it through. If - rarely- she ever needed anyone to talk to, she turned to her grandfather. But that wasn't for serious things like this; that was for when she was bummed and wanted to be cheered up. And if she wanted to talk about girl stuff or if her parents were driving her batty, she'd always turned to Sarah.

When it came to the Big Sister department, Elizabeth really considered herself blessed. Sarah had never been the bitchy or over-competitive sister her other friends frequently complained about. Sarah had to be one of the most loving, compassionate, mellow, and down-to-earth people Elizabeth knew. They rarely fought when they were younger, even though they were three years apart and the potential for disagreement was heavy. Elizabeth rarely borrowed Sarah's clothing, and when she did, her older sister didn't have much to worry about because she was always very neat and careful when it came to her own clothes, and even more so when it came to anyone else's. They never fought over boys or friends or the car or anything of the nature.

When she was younger, she liked to tag along when Sarah invited friends over, and she found that as long as she remained relatively quiet and participated at the right times, no one seemed to mind. And whenever she was bored, Sarah was always there and ready to have some fun. They'd go to movies together all the time, they'd often spend an entire afternoon baking brownies and truffles just because there was nothing good on television, and when Sarah would occasionally sneak out at night, she would sometimes let Elizabeth accompany her. They'd drive around for hours and often find themselves on the swing set at the park, watching the rays of sun first kiss the horizon.

Whenever she needed advice, Sarah was there. From fashion to their crazy parents, Sarah always gave the best advice. She knew Elizabeth better than anyone and always knew what to say to her. If she was angry with her father for being such an unexplainable weirdo, Sarah would calm her down by telling her that Daddy was old - what did she expect? If her curfew was too early, Sarah would give her helpful tips on how to either get Daddy to extend it or forget it. And whenever her parents missed something - a piano recital, a carpool day, a parent/teacher conference - Sarah always told her the same thing: "They've got to go to work, Beth. There are so many hurt people out there who need them more than we do."

And at that age, Elizabeth accepted it as the truth. As she grew older, she realized that it was just one of those things that Sarah believed in because it was easier to believe it than realize that her parents just weren't home as often as they should have been. And even though she didn't believe the excuse anymore, she was basically able to accept the fact that her parents wouldn't be there most of the time as part of her life.

So that was what Sarah was good for - guidance. She had never failed her little sister, and Elizabeth was grateful for that. Sarah would always tell her that the Webber girls had to stick together at all costs. And so they did. To this day, with Sarah away at university, they were still exceptionally close.

But despite the closeness, Elizabeth never talked to her about anything like this. Truth be told, there wasn't anyone she really did talk to like that. She wasn't used to needing other people like that, and the thought that maybe she did need someone else's support always made her feel weak.

But why was it different with Jason?

Everything about how he handled the situation and how she responded to him was different. And although it scared her a little, she had to admit that it felt...right. Easy. Not forced.

Instead of immediately demanding to know what was wrong and attempting to fix it - and doing a really half-assed job at it, too - he just left her alone while staying with her the whole time.

Did that even make sense? Was it possible to leave someone alone and yet stand by his or her side?

With Jason, it was.

To her, he seemed to prove countless contradictions like that wrong. He never pestered her about what she was thinking and yet she knew that he'd always be the first one to sit down and listen when she was ready to talk. He was always the first to make her laugh, but if she needed him to be serious, he was. He was so easygoing most of the time, always cracking jokes and just having a good time, but when it came to things he cared deeply about, he was completely focused.

And even now, he wasn't pressuring her to talk. And for some strange reason that she had an impossibly hard time explaining, just being with him made her feel better, as if he was letting her borrow some of the strength he always carried so well.

His hand squeezed her waist gently and she sighed, pulling away slightly.

"Thanks."

His eyes were puzzled. "For what? I didn't do anything."

"You did more than you know."

She settled into silence again, but this time Jason wasn't able to hold off his curiosity.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

The silence still stretched between them, and Elizabeth was about to speak when they arrived at the door of the Commons.

Ms. Ward was standing at the entrance, ushering some more lost parents inside, and she beamed when she saw Elizabeth and Jason.

"Hey, kids," she smiled, instantly walking over and patting Elizabeth on the back while steering them into the cafeteria. "Elizabeth, your speech was wonderful. You did a great job. Were you nervous?"

"Oh, yeah," Elizabeth nodded, pulling away from Jason but threading her fingers through his as she did so, letting him know that she wasn't about to let him go anywhere. "_Very_ nervous."

Ms. Ward shook her head, her silver spectacles catching the light. "You didn't look that way at all," she assured her. "You looked calm and confident, and did a wonderful job."

"Thank you," Elizabeth smiled as they walked toward the center of the large cafeteria. All the chairs had been stacked and swept to the side, and the room was clear of furniture except the punch and cookie tables in the center of the room. Parents, students, new inductees and teachers all milled around, sipping the pink liquid and mingling.

Through her peripheral vision, Elizabeth spied Mr. Lewis making his way toward them. Ms. Ward excused herself, seeing some parents she had been meaning to chat with, and Elizabeth turned to face her advisor.

Mr. Lewis was smiling broadly, proudly, but Elizabeth was too busy blushing with embarrassment.

"Elizabeth-"

His words were cut off by her embarrassed wail. "Oh, Mr. Lewis!"

"What's wrong?" Jason stepped aside when her teacher moved closer, placing both hands on her shoulders. But Elizabeth's hand remained in his, refusing to let him move too far away. "What is it?"

"Oh, come on, Mr. Lewis," she burst out. "Don't tell me that you didn't see it! I totally ruined it all! The candles, the prompt, the introduction – everything!"

Her advisor stared down at her in disbelief before shaking his head. He caught Jason's gaze for a minute and rolled his eyes as if to say, women. "Honey, do you want to know what I saw out there?"

"Oh, dear God. What?" She was still busy studying the floor and didn't notice how the two men were watching her.

"I saw a very calm, self-assured girl go up there, show her ingenuity and adaptivity in the face of a problem, and deliver a sensational speech that the crowd loved."

She peeked up at him. "Really?"

"Would I lie to you about something like that?"

"So I didn't look like a total clown?"

Jason frowned at the timidity in her voice. "Not at all," he and Mr. Lewis assured her in unison. They caught each other's gaze again and Mr. Lewis let him continue. "You were fine, Elizabeth. It wasn't a big deal at all - if anything, it was cute," he finished with a smile.

Her wry smile reminded her of how much she hated being called _cute_, but he didn't care. She was cute. Everything about her was adorable.

"You did a wonderful job, Beth," Mr. Lewis added earnestly. "I was so proud of you. All of you," he added as Lexi and Josh joined them, each sipping punch. "You were all great."

"Thanks, Mr. Lewis," they both smiled. Lexi offered Elizabeth some of her punch, but the petite brunette shook her head.

"Thanks anyway."

Mr. Lewis excused himself and David joined the group. Jason stood around awkwardly as they all shared their favorite memories and reminisced about all the fun they'd had as NHS officers, despite all the hard work.

Apparently, during the clothing drive in which members of the community were instructed to leave their boxes on their porch for pick-up by NHS members, David had been chased across three backyards and had to jump a fence to escape a hyperactive and possibly homicidal Yorkshire terrier.

Josh reminded them of the pie-eating contest during the annual Welcome Back Raider Social, in which they'd had quite a few problems when it came to weighing the pies and deciding the winners, so they had to eye-ball it, which wasn't very accurate since a lot of the pie ended up on the table or in the contestants' noses.

Jason was able to comment on that one, since he had been the one to supply the pies from his work. He worked at a local restaurant as the pastry chef and made pies, and when he had been asked to help out with the contest, he had gladly snagged some pies for them.

But other than that, the conversation was centered on the four officers. Lexi told how an old lady brought her hot cocoa when she was ringing the Salvation Army bell outside of Wyndhams, and Elizabeth reminded everyone of all the back-breaking work they'd done while packing food boxes for low-income seniors at the Humanitarian Service Project.

Sonny and Brenda were standing nearby and talking to the Czar, and Jason decided it might be a better idea to let Elizabeth have a nice conversation with her friends. He was just sidling away, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible so as not to be rude when he felt a tug on his hand. Elizabeth, still nodding and smiling at David, held him fast.

Jason smiled to himself and scooted back into place, part of him relieved that she still wanted him around even though she was talking to her officer friends. Presently, the conversation hit a lull and Josh drifted away to talk to his other friends.

Jason and Elizabeth excused themselves as well, and no sooner had they stepped away than they were ambushed by Sonny and Brenda. So surprised was Elizabeth by the assault that she didn't notice the wide-eyed, red-faced man in the corner whose spouse was trying to restrain him from marching over and physically separating her and Jason.

David and Lexi watched the couple depart silently as Josh and Kyle returned to the group.

David took a small sip of his punch, swishing the red liquid in his clear glass. "Well."

Josh snickered, watching as Jason snaked an arm around Elizabeth's waist. "Yeah. That was kinda weird."

"In a good way, though," Lexi corrected, glancing at him sideways.

Kyle was the first among them to nod emphatically. "Yeah, definitely in a good way. I mean, those two seem to be really good together. For what it's worth, I'm happy for them."

"Me, too," David agreed immediately and sincerely. "But still – I'll never get used to the sight of them together."

Josh laughed, twisting to shoot his empty cup into a nearby garbage can. "I know what you mean, man."

"Hey," Lexi interjected, frowning at her fellow officer. "They're cute together."

"See, now, that's the same thing Jess says," David replied, wagging his glass at her. "All the girls seem to think they look 'totally cute' together, and I don't get why. I don't think they look bad _or_ cute, so I'm just curious."

"Yeah, me, too," Josh added. "What makes 'em so 'cute'?"

The brunette rolled her eyes. Guys could be such lamebrains sometimes. "Just the fact that she's so tiny and nerdy and perfect, and he's so tall and outgoing – and also perfect – and the fact that they've been in the same school for three years and are only now getting together." She shrugged her shoulders, returning her gaze to the couple. "I can't really explain it, but they just look good together."

The three boys joined her as she perused PC High's newest power duo, tapping their fingers on their chins contemplatively.

David was the first to break the silence. "I'll still never get used to seeing them together."

"Here, here," Josh agreed.

Across the Commons, Sonny and Brenda had jumped on Elizabeth as soon as she had separated from her NHS colleagues.

"Hey, Beth," Sonny smiled sympathetically. He could feel Brenda fidgeting impatiently next to him, anxious to know what was troubling her best friend.

"Hey, guys," Elizabeth smiled, attempting to be cheerful. "Wow, am I glad that ceremony's over. They never should've combined the Academic Letter Ceremony with NHS Induction Night. It was a total mess, and besides that, way too long."

Brenda watched her warily, her lips pursed into a thin crimson line. "Okay, Webber," she cut in tersely. "Now, you're going to cut the act and tell us what's bothering you so that we can fix it."

Sonny gaped at her. "Brenda!"

She looked at him, perplexed. "What?"

"Way to be considerate and thoughtful, not to mention _discreet_."

The brunette had to fight the urge to smack him right there in the Commons. That certainly wouldn't be good – his parents might be watching and they certainly wouldn't be too keen on their son's new girlfriend if they thought she was a female Mike Tyson. "First, screw discreet – I never did that well anyway. Second, don't tell me how to talk to my friend. My mom does that and I _hate_ it."

"Look," Sonny said in a low voice. "I just don't want to push it, okay?" He turned back to Elizabeth and she was touched at the concern in his eyes. "Beth, if you need to talk about it, don't hesitate to grab us and let it out. But we're not going to stand here and badger you to spill it in the middle of a school function." He ignored Brenda's protest and grabbed her elbow, intent on steering her toward the refreshment table. "Instead, we are going to go get some punch."

Elizabeth chuckled as the two walked away, Sonny practically dragging a very displeased Brenda who was trying to maintain her dignity while throwing a fit at the same time. "Those two," she trailed off, knowing that Jason knew exactly what she meant.

"Yeah," he smiled. "They mean well."

A slender, elegant woman had taken notice of them and was quickly walking toward the center of the room, a wide smile on her face.

"Jason!" she called with a hint of a Spanish accent. "_Mi hijo_, how are you?"

"Good, thanks," Jason beamed back, leaning down to hug Sonny's mom. "And you?"

"No complaints," she replied as always, turning to Elizabeth. She smiled lovingly at the girl and took a minute to frame her pale face in her hands. "_Elisbeta_," she smiled. "_Como estas, carina?_"

"_Asi, asi_," the petite brunette replied with a smile. "_Como esta su hijo?_" Sonny's mother had always encouraged Elizabeth to speak Spanish to her for practice, and even though she was no longer at the stage where she had to practice her pronunciation and sentence structure, some habits died hard.

"_Ric esta muy bien, gracias_," she replied. She looked up as Sonny's father joined them. He smiled at Jason and winked at Elizabeth.

"Excellent speech, Bethie," he nodded. "You were wonderful – everyone in our row thought you were just the cutest thing."

Elizabeth bit her lip to keep from smiling too readily – he, too, _knew_ how much she hated being called cute, and that was precisely why he and Ric made a habit out of calling her _cutie_ almost every time they saw her. "Thank you, Mr. Corinthos."

Mr. Lewis walked by then, and Sonny's parents went off to talk to him, leaving Jason and Elizabeth standing alone in the center of the cafeteria.

"You want some punch?" Jason offered, already leading her to the refreshment table. She nodded and he poured two glasses while she snagged two chocolate chip cookies from the platter.

"Let's go sit down," she suggested, indicating the tables that were spread across the other half of the room. Only the grandparents were sitting down, the other guests having too much fun standing and mingling.

Jason nodded and they made their way to the lunch tables, picking one more at the back of the cafeteria. He pulled out her chair for her and pushed it in before sitting himself. His friends always laughed at him when they saw him do that, but he couldn't help it. To this day, his grandfather still pulled the chair out for his grandmother, just as his father did for his mother.

Elizabeth nibbled on the soft cookie and didn't notice that Jason didn't touch his, choosing instead to just sit and watch her. She had nibbled it into the shape of a crescent moon before she noticed his eyes on her and turned to look at him.

"Hey," he nodded when he saw that he'd been caught. It was such a simple reaction – he wasn't expecting anything from her, just sitting calmly and watching. Her gaze fell to the dark red dress shirt he wore, and she found herself wanting to undo the top two buttons. Having not opted for a tie, Jason felt obligated to button his shirt all the way up, and it couldn't have been very comfortable, although if she really forced herself to, she'd admit that she wanted to unbutton it slightly for purely selfish reasons.

She leaned back in her own chair, taking a moment to survey the rest of the room. She spotted her parents in the far corner of the cafeteria, actively chatting with Mr. Alcazar. Or at least, her mother was actively chatting and laughing to one of his stories. Her father, on the other hand, was alternating between fake-smiling and scanning the room with quick, darting movements of his eyes. She looked away quickly on the off-chance that he'd spot her and they'd make eye contact.

Jason expelled a deep breath, still watching her, and her eyes returned to him. He hadn't moved from his position, and she slowly set her half-eaten cookie on her napkin where it lay on the table and turned in the chair to face him.

She could see that he was waiting for her to say something, but his mouth remained shut. Elizabeth licked her lips once before she spoke, her fingers twiddling nervously in her lap.

"I didn't get into Stanford."

His eyes bugged and she firmly reminded herself of the rule – no tears. No voice-wobbling. No crying.

Jason blinked once, twice, as if she had just blurted something in Arabic. "Wait – what?"

Elizabeth fought to keep her voice normal and succeeded. "I didn't get into Stanford."

His shoulders sagged upon comprehension, and the infinite sympathy she saw reflected in his eyes brought an unwanted rush of tears to her eyes. She blinked them back as quickly as she could, not wanting him to think that she was so fragile and weak that she'd burst into tears in public.

"Hey," he whispered, scooting his chair closer to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Come here." She allowed him to pull her against his chest and after a moment, pressed her face to his neck as he rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. "It's okay."

Her lips pulled into a distorted curve as she tried to suppress a sob and failed. "No, it's not, Jason."

He pressed a kiss to her temple and wrapped his other hand around her waist until she was practically in his lap.

"Stanford was supposed to be my way out," she got out in a broken voice. "My escape from my parents' demands to go to Johns Hopkins. And now I don't even have that." She sniffled and then cursed herself for crying on his shoulder even though she swore to herself that she wouldn't. Jason felt her press a hand to his chest in an attempt to push away from him, but he wasn't about to let that happen.

Elizabeth was surprised to feel his grip around her tighten as he whispered fiercely in her ear. "Hey, don't do that. Lean on me, Elizabeth; that's what I'm here for." Another soft kiss was feathered over her hair. "Don't pull away and shut me out."

She sniffled again, resigning and letting his arm surround her and pull her into his chest again. It was a long moment before she spoke. "Thanks."

"For what? I didn't do anything." His hand never ceased caressing her shoulder.

She smiled, remembering the line from their earlier conversation. "You've done more than you know."

His chest rose and fell on a sigh as his fingers feathered through her wavy hair. "Just don't hide your emotions from me," he said softly. "You don't have to pretend with me, Elizabeth – ever. And you don't have to carry all your problems and worries alone. I'm ready to help if you'll let me."

Her fingers tickled the underside of his jaw as she explored the light fuzz that was already forming. Her other hand reached down to twine with the one he'd placed protectively over her waist, and she burrowed into his chest.

"Tha-"

"And don't thank me."

"Oh."

They sat like that for a few minutes, her too weary to say anything, and him too relieved that she'd let him hold her and comfort her to want to press matters further before she was ready to do so.

"Jason?" Her voice was soft and faraway.

"Mmm?"

A sad sigh. "I really wanted to go to Stanford."

He swallowed, shifting slightly on the uncomfortable plastic chairs but retaining his firm hold on her. "Do you know what my grandmother says?"

"What?" It was so soft that he wouldn't have known that she'd spoken had he not felt her chest move against his.

"She says that whatever happens to us happens for a reason. Whenever God closes a door, He opens for us a window."

She considered his words, her fingers pinching and rubbing the fabric of his shirt.

"He has a plan for us, Elizabeth, and He always knows what's best for us. And that's what He wills to happen." He pulled away and smiled down at her. "That's what my grandmother has firmly believed for all of her life, and I've never had any reason to doubt it."

She looked away and Jason could see the hint of tears welling up in her eyes. "Honey, maybe you weren't meant to go to Stanford. Maybe there's someplace even better out there for you – someplace that will recognize your talents and help you nurture and develop them instead of treating you like just another tuition check."

Elizabeth sniffed softly. She liked the sound of what he was saying. But even more, she liked the sound of him calling her _honey_. "Mmm."

"If they rejected you, Elizabeth," he continued softly with firmness of conviction. "Then they're fools. And it's _their_ loss, because wherever you end up going, you are going to tip the world over on its axis."

She snuggled into him again, closing her eyes. A few tears broke through her lashes and tumbled haphazardly down her cheeks, but the profound depression that had enveloped her so thickly earlier was dissipating. "Maybe you're right."

"I _know_ I'm right," Jason insisted, giving her a small shake. "You belong somewhere else, Elizabeth. All you have to do is figure out where."

She huffed, her bitterness returning. "For the longest time, I thought that somewhere was Stanford. I felt so safe, Jason, because as long as I had Stanford, there was no way my parents could force me to go to Johns. As long as there was somewhere I really, really, really wanted to go with every fiber of my being, they couldn't deny my wishes and force me into Medical school by preying on my insecurities. Now I've got nothing."

He frowned at the forlorn tone of her voice. The predicament she was painting regarding the parental units seemed more like a battle than a loving relationship. "But what about Chicago? You said that was your second choice."

"That was a sham and they know it," she replied bitterly. "Stanford was on the top of my list, and it was the only thing on my list. It was my Trump card, and now I'm stuck."

Jason was about to reply but was interrupted by Sonny and Brenda, who had spotted the duo cuddling together in the corner and figured now was the moment to get the dirt.

"Hey," Brenda greeted them hurriedly. "Beth, honey, are you okay?" Next to her, Sonny made no move to end her inquiries.

Elizabeth nodded, a sad smile touching her lips. "Yeah."

"What's going on, Beth?" Sonny asked softly, sitting on the table. Brenda joined him, perching herself on the corner.

Elizabeth licked her lips before replying. "I didn't get into Stanford."

Both of her friends gaped at her with shock and disbelief. Sonny was the first to recover his voice.

"Holy crap," he whistled. "You're kidding me."

"Oh, Beth," Brenda sighed, her shoulders drooping. "I am so sorry."

"Me, too," Sonny added sincerely. "I know how much you wanted to go there."

"Look at it this way," Brenda broke in, trying to be helpful. "There's got to be somewhere better where you belong."

"Exactly," Jason agreed, giving Elizabeth's shoulder a squeeze.

The petite brunette sighed and shifted on her chair before leaning into Jason again. "I guess," she agreed reluctantly. "I just thought that I'd already found that place, and now it feels like I'm back at square one, and it's so late in the game."

"You'll find it again," Jason assured her, stroking her upper arm as he looked to his friends for agreement. "Don't worry about it, Elizabeth. Just trust yourself to make the right decision, and I know you will."

"And you can always transfer out later," Sonny added helpfully. "It's not so bad."

Elizabeth groaned, covering her face in her hand. "I don't even want to think about transfers and all that yet. I worked so hard on their application and everything, and what was it worth? Nothing. In the end, I wasn't good enough."

"Hey," Jason cut in immediately, giving her a strong shake. "That's not true and you know it, Webber. You _are_ good enough."

"And remember what the Czar always told us?" Sonny interjected. "He said that if we got rejected, to remember that it wasn't personal. And it's not."

"It never is," Brenda added. "To them, every applicant is just a number, and they never even have the whole picture of the student – all they have are bits and pieces: standardized test scores, subjective grades, verbose recommendations. They don't ever know the real person they're debating over, and yet they feel that they're qualified to decide if he or she is good enough to be accepted to their institution or not. Even though that's the system all across the board, it doesn't make it any less stupid."

"She's right," Jason agreed. "It's never personal. If someone gets turned down, it's often because the school already has enough people to fit the niche that person belonged to. Like, they've filled their quota of computer geeks and jocks and D'orchestra kids, and they just don't need any more. So it's not that you're not good enough; it's just that a bunch of other people just happened to be in line before you. Don't let that affect the way you view yourself, and don't let it make you question your abilities."

"You don't need to be scared, Beth," Brenda assured her. Her smile was soft and sympathetic. "You'll get through this and you'll find someplace better."

"That's what it all comes down to," Jason said softly

to her. "You _will_ find someplace better, and you'll be much better off and happier there than you ever could have been at Stanford."

Elizabeth nodded once, slowly, then again. "Yeah, you're right."

"Of course we are," Brenda huffed. "You ought to know that by now."

"Yeah," Jason agreed. "And the sooner you figure out that I'm a genius, the better off we'll all be."

Elizabeth smiled and chuckled as Sonny glowered at the wooden table.

"Personally," he began, jabbing pointedly at the table. "I want to know what those yahoos on the admission committee were smoking when they read over your stuff."

"It's the same stuff you were on when you asked Courtney Matthews to Prom last year," Brenda huffed under her breath, but Sonny heard her anyway.

"Prom?" he asked, his eyebrows shooting up into his hairline. "Um, excuse me, it was Turnabout and _she_ asked me. And what was I supposed to do, say no?"

"Given the fact that you're at risk for catching herpes just by shaking her hand?" Brenda asked. "Uh, yeah, Einstein."

Sonny scowled at her. "Look, I felt bad for her, okay? And it's not like I had a date anyway, so what did I care? And remember who _you_ asked?"

"I'm warning you, Corinthos-"

"Tony Jones? Are you freaking kidding me? That kid's a freaking Lurch! Does his vocabulary even exceed ten words?"

"Hey! He was a nice guy, okay? And he wasn't half the jerk you are!"

"Oh, so now I'm a jerk?"

"What, you think this is some overnight development or something, _Don_?" Brenda was shoving his shoulder now as Jason and Elizabeth watched in amazement, not knowing whether to break it up or smirk at their bantering. "You've always been a jerk!"

"Well, if I'm such a jerk, why are you going out with me?" Sonny demanded, unable to keep from grinning. He was standing next to her and his face was inches from hers. Brenda shoved at him again but he wouldn't move, his eyes glittering as he laughed at her. "I guess that makes you a jerk by association – how does Mrs. Jerk sound to you?"

Brenda laughed despite herself, giving in to one last urge to shove him, but with his heels planted firmly on the tiles, Sonny wasn't moving anywhere. "Don't flatter yourself, Corinthos."

Elizabeth and Jason were laughing now at her predicament – even if Brenda wouldn't admit it, Sonny had gotten her. From now on, it would be darn near impossible for her to call him a jerk without him reflecting it back on her.

The brief sparring match in the corner had drawn a pair of eyes with the movement, and the man to whom the eyes belonged was not too happy.

"There they are, Caroline," he whispered to his wife. "The enemy has been spotted. Advancing at twenty-two hundred hours."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Oh, give it up, Jeff. They're not doing anything."

Her husband couldn't believe his ears. "Not doing anything? Woman, are you blind?" The dark glare directed in his direction didn't stop him from his tirade. "They're _touching_. That's right – his hands are on her. I don't know what she's thinking – why would she let that happen?"

"Jeff, they're kids – this is their age-"

But he was far beyond listening to her logic. "Surely she agrees with me that boys are horrible, unattractive creatures with hands that are far too large and exploratory. Why would she allow those hands on herself? He's probably brainwashed her – we've got to move fast if we're going to bag this one. He's on to our game, I can feel it. There's not much time-"

"There you two are," came Monica's voice. Jeff cringed visibly as the two doctors stepped directly in front of him, blocking his view of Elizabeth and the hooligan that had attached himself, leech-like, to her body. "We've been looking for you."

Caroline smiled up at her husband, who looked like he was about to have a coronary. Her daughter and Jason were still in her view, and from what she could see, they were just chatting with their friends. Jason had his arms around her daughter's shoulders and she was snuggled up next to him as they laughed and chattered away with Sonny and Brenda. As far as she could see, the scene before them was hardly dangerous. In fact, it was rather cute.

"Did you know they have these mini cheesecakes over there?" Alan asked, stuffing one into his mouth. "They're quite good."

"I'll bet they are," Jeff got out through clenched teeth. Alan noticed that he was straining to see something, and turned around to investigate.

"Oh, there are the kids," he beamed, pointing in the direction of his son and the charming Webber girl. "Aren't they adorable?"

Monica smiled, secretly hoping that Alan would stop right there – Jeff didn't seem to be taking the news of his daughter's maturation very well.

But Alan was never one to take such a cue. "I bet we'll be in-laws before you know it, Jeff," he joked, not noticing that his wife was studying the floor with newfound and almost fanatic interest.

Caroline, on the other hand, was laughing. But her chuckles were cut short as her husband suddenly lunged forward, his eyes blazing and his mouth set. She reached forward quickly and grabbed his shoulders, preventing him from stalking over to the kids and immediately demanding that Jason relinquish his daughter immediately or face a firing squad.

There were some things that fathers just didn't take very well, and for Jeff Webber, it was his little baby receiving comfort and attention from a male other than himself.


	12. The Webber Inquisition

**The Webber Inquisition**

_This takes place in mid-April, the night after the Induction Ceremony of the last chapter._

Jeff Webber's comfortable, New-England style dining room was about to turn into a battlefield. And what's more, he knew it.

As commander-in-chief against the forces of terror, Jeff sat solidly and stoically at the head of the large Queen Anne table, his hands firmly folded and his eyes staring straight ahead as he waited for the total pandemonium that would undoubtedly ensue. His wife bustled about in the kitchen, taking the lasagna out of the oven and getting the rolls out of the toaster oven.

When nations went to war, they were courteous enough to serve unambiguous notice. After Pearl Harbor, as he thought it fair to assume, it was highly unlikely that the President and his advisors sat around scratching their heads and musing, "Now, what the heck do you suppose they meant by that?"

But when a daughter – a formerly reliable, practical, logical daughter - metamorphosed into a typical _teenage_ daughter, she did so in secret conspiracy, deliberately choosing not to advise her loving, protective father that she had decided it was time to take all his reasonable rules and toss them out into the rose bushes.

However, Jeff had already received a clue as to his daughter's newfound temperament. On the drive home after the induction ceremony, he had innocuously inquired as to what Elizabeth's relation was to that _nice young man_, as Caroline referred to the deviant, only to have the entire conversation spin rapidly and perilously out of control before he could put up any reasonable parental road blocks to stop the runaway train.

Elizabeth was vague, which was reason enough to be suspicious – his daughter didn't even know the _meaning_ of the word. Every opinion she held was carefully crafted and considered, and once realized, she wasn't the least bit hesitant to share it with anyone within a ten-mile radius that asked. So when she mumbled, "I don't know – it's kinda complicated," the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

Trouble was brewing, he had decided as he nervously twiddled his thumbs over the steering wheel. _By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes_.

His wife had obviously decided that when there was an elephant in the corner, the best thing to do was to give it a good, sharp crack of the whip. "Are you two going out?" she had asked, a question so couched in innocence that Elizabeth only blinked and he himself almost forgot that it was his cue to begin retching and searching for a hemlock to swallow.

His eyes had been on the rearview mirror as soon as the words left Caroline's mouth. So carefully had he been watching his youngest for her answer that he had almost not noticed the red light in front of him, giving him only about twenty yards to bring his vehicle to a screeching halt.

Elizabeth had been staring out the window, nibbling on her lip. It was _never_ a good sign when she did that. Ever.

So considering that alone, why did the fact that she said, "I guess we kind of are," make his hands tighten on the wheel until his knuckles turned white?

His wife had prattled on about how _lovely_ the situation was, and how _lovely_ a boy Jason was, and how _lovely_ the two of them looked together – proving once again that women had no business using the English language. Roses were lovely. A sunny day was lovely. A hormonally-charged teenage boy gawking over his sweet little girl was anything _but_ lovely.

So he had lovingly – and reasonably – suggested that maybe it wasn't such a hot idea for her to get too involved with anyone, as she still had to finish out the school year and was looking forward to college the following year.

However, neither of the two women in the car thought his paternal wisdom was loving or reasonable. His wife had huffed in disbelief and folded her arms, leaving the arguing and flipping out to his youngest who, as usual, didn't disappoint. By the time they arrived at their house, he felt more hen-pecked than the lone rooster at an egg farm.

Elizabeth had stomped up to her room immediately, refusing to speak to him, and Jeff was only too grateful that his wife didn't order him onto the couch. Women were irrational and high-maintenance, but he had to live with them anyway.

His daughter had run off to school the next day, sure to spend more time than appropriate with the miscreant, and his wife hadn't been too pleased with him either as they drove to Mercy. During the day, however, she had forgiven him for the horrible transgression of looking out for his daughter.

So Caroline wasn't the problem anymore. But the little girl upstairs still was.

Elizabeth's footsteps could be heard as she descended the stairs at 7:00 on the dot for dinner. For all her sudden erratic behavior, Jeff had to admit that his girl was highly disciplined for her age. On the rare evenings when both he and his wife were to be home for dinner, Elizabeth was sure to be downstairs at exactly seven, and she'd even help if she didn't have too much homework.

Jeff's hands curled into two fists in his lap as her bare feet trudged up the carpet on her way across the adjacent living room. _Easy does it, Jeff,_ he told himself. _Just hold steady, old boy_.

For as soon as Elizabeth came down, he'd be sure to be subjected to the silent treatment for the first fifteen minutes. Then, one of two things would happen: either he'd be stupid enough to say something disagreeable, thus causing his daughter to flare up like a garbage can fire and therefore beginning World War III, or his wife would release some sort of barbed statement that would instantly remind his daughter of why she was mad at him, and therefore beginning World War III.

He'd heard similar horror stories from his brother as he dealt with his two teenage twins, his own nephew that everyone called Lucky, and his niece Leslie. He had laughed then, saying that neither of his daughters gave _him_ any trouble – both were too busy with school and music and extra-curriculars to have time to behave erratically.

Well, karma had decided otherwise. And karma was a bitch.

Because try as he might, there was no way that Jeff would be able to escape another epic battle between the forces of good and the forces of the teenager.

Elizabeth appeared in the dining room and immediately poked her head into the kitchen. Jeff noticed the guilty set of her shoulders as she saw that her mother had already prepared dinner without her help.

"Oh, honey, there you are," Caroline smiled, picking up the lasagna and the tray of dinner rolls from the counter. Elizabeth had come home late from school that day and had immediately run upstairs to shower and change before coming down to eat. "How was school?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes as she dutifully took the two trays from her mother and moved to set them on the table before her father. "Painful."

Caroline's eyebrows crinkled in amusement. "Oh? How so?" She had left the kitchen and was pouring three glasses of water for everyone at the table, and Elizabeth had already slid into her usual seat next to her father. Her grandfather and grandmother were off playing badminton with some of their friends at the gym, so it was only the three of them tonight.

"Well, the paper was supposed to go out yesterday, or so I thought," Elizabeth explained as she began cutting the lasagna into individual servings. "But I got to school early this morning and Ms. Bedford and Ryan were sitting at his computer completely re-doing the Sports page because the computer totally ate it."

"Oh, no," Caroline clucked at exactly the right moment as she passed Jeff his silverware. "What happened?"

Elizabeth shrugged as she carefully lifted a piece and put it in her mother's place before serving her father. "No idea. But it had to be re-done. And Ryan was horribly sick today, too, but he came at six to work on it, and he left when school started, because technically, he wasn't supposed to be on campus at all. And then it turned out that all of the pages had some problem or another, so we _all_ ended up staying after school until 6:00 to finish it and save it on the disk. It was a nightmare."

Caroline was following this conversation more closely than Jeff was, but in his defense, Jeff was still far too surprised that the conversation had nothing to do with the fact that he was supposedly the meanest father in the world.

And he liked it.

So, if Elizabeth wasn't going to torture him with silence or cause his eardrums to explode with her arguing, he wasn't going to do anything to set her off, either.

"Pass the salt, please," he cut in cheerfully, smiling at his daughter when she obliged.

"Sometimes I wonder why I joined the paper in the first place," she continued, passing the wooden saltshaker without taking her eyes off her mother. "It's just so much work."

_Wait a minute…_

"It's been a good experience, though, don't you think?" her mother asked helpfully, spearing a noodle with her fork.

Elizabeth nodded emphatically, her wet hair slipping into her face before she had the chance to brush it back into the loose bun she had constructed. "Oh, definitely. I've learned so much about stuff I never thought I'd have to use – I know Pagemaker like the back of my hand, and I've never even used it before being an editor."

Jeff frowned. So far, none of the conversation had been directed at him, which was highly unusual. Perhaps he had been too hasty in his judgment – maybe she _was_ awarding him the silent treatment. Time for the sure-fire test.

"Besides, you're always saying how you've met so many wonderful kids because of the paper." If that didn't work, nothing would – his daughter adored all of her five hundred friends, all of whom, he was sure, had at one point or another been over at his house to eat his food.

"Mm-hmm," she agreed, taking a sip of her water. "Yeah – under normal circumstances, I never would have hung out with Ryan or Brendan or Jeff, and yet I manage to spend twenty hours a month with them in the office."

Jeff smiled to himself as his wife continued the conversation. Elizabeth _was_ talking to him. Crisis averted.

Maybe he was going to be all right.

"It's kind of funny, though," his daughter continued musing, poking her fork at the ground beef that had spilled out from the neat layers of pasta and cheese. "I've met so many people this year alone that I never would have really hung out with before. And yet we've been in the same classes, or we've had lockers in the same part of the hallway, or we're involved in the same clubs and whatnot. So many people that I didn't even know existed before this year, as terrible as that sounds."

"Oh?" Her mother asked, raising her eyebrows as she took a small sip of her water. Her green eyes bore into her daughter's dark blue ones, and the message was clear: Now. "Like who?"

Jeff chewed away happily, content to participate in this conversation merely as an onlooker. He was off the hook, and he wasn't going to spoil it.

"Rose, for one thing." Elizabeth played with her fork, almost done with her small portion of dinner, and reached for a roll. "She's a sophomore this year, and she's the only editor that isn't a senior. I never would have known her otherwise because I just don't hang out with the underclassmen or have any classes with them, but she is such a great person. She's smart, she's sweet, she's funny, she's got great taste, and she's a phenomenal writer." She shook her head. "Wow, I'm so glad I got the chance to know her."

"She's the girl with the bobbed hair, right?" her mother asked, tapping her unpolished nails on her glass.

"Yup," Elizabeth nodded.

"Who else?"

"Well, Charlie, for one thing," she replied. "He's Syd's boyfriend, and he's got to be the nicest guy alive. His last name's Bucheit, so we call him Charlie Bucket."

Her mother laughed, and even her father smiled.

"He's a junior, though, and the only reason I got to know him was because Syd would sometimes invite him over when we were at her house."

"He's a nice boy," her mother agreed. "I remember when he came over with her last week."

Elizabeth laughed, finishing off her roll. "You mean when Syd baked oatmeal cinnamon cookies for all of us? Yeah, that was nice of them. She was just bored and made them for all of us – she and Charlie dropped some off for Sonny, Bren, and Jason, too."

"Jason," her mother repeated, furrowing her brows. "That's right – you know, honey, come to think of it, I don't recall hearing his name before now, either."

Jeff's lips pursed into a thin line as he chewed. He didn't like the direction this seemingly harmless conversation had suddenly taken. It was dangerous territory, and he was only too certain he'd slip somewhere along the way.

"You didn't," Elizabeth answered simply, trying to keep her voice normal and the conversation casual. She didn't even bother to glance at her father, instead keeping her eyes on her mother. "I didn't meet him before this year, either."

"Really?" Caroline inquired, her voice carrying just the right amount of surprise.

Her daughter nodded, taking in her last mouthful and setting the fork back on the empty plate. "Yeah. It's kinda strange considering that he and Sonny have been best friends since they were little."

"And you've never seen him when you and Sonny were together?"

Elizabeth considered the question a moment before answering. "Well, whenever Sonny came over and hung out with us, it was just us girls and a couple of the boyfriends. And when I hung out with Sonny, like over the weekend or something, it was usually just him and Brendan or Bobby or something. And whenever we went to a party – or when he threw one – there were just so many people there that I may have seen Jason a couple of times, but I never talked to him."

Her mother took a minute to think over the new information. "So for all intents and purposes, you just met him this year?"

She nodded. "Yeah, pretty much." Jeff was frowning darkly at his glass of water, and looked up when he heard Elizabeth laugh. "It was actually pretty funny – the way we met, I mean. I was standing around with Sydney and Lexi and one of their friends – his name's Johnny and he's a junior – was horsing around, and I think he tickled Lex or something, because she bumped into me and I fell on the floor." She was giggling now, shaking her head as she recounted the story. "It was so random – all of a sudden, Jason was behind me and he pushed the others away and helped me up and picked up my books, and then he walked away with one of his friends. But we kinda started talking a bit more after that, and I'd see him all the time with Sonny. To be honest, I think Sonny and Bren shang hai'd me into that, but that's okay. He's just a really nice guy. A gentleman, I'd have to say."

She took another sip of her water, her eyes wandering around the room in an effort not to meet her father's. She hoped he'd at least trust her when she said that Jason was a gentleman, because he was. And there was no need to bring up their Clover trip where he'd 'attacked her', as he put it, in the thicket. He was a gentleman regardless.

"He seems like a nice boy," her mother agreed, leaning back in her chair. "Very polite, very charming. Do you have any classes with him?" She knew the answer to her questions, but played along and asked them anyway.

Elizabeth nodded, knowing that hearing that Jason was an honor student as well would improve his standing in her father's eyes. "Yeah – we have AP Calc together this semester and had AP Psych together last semester."

"What other things does he do?" her mother inquired for Jeff's benefit. Her husband had ridiculously high standards for himself and his own friends, and those standards were only all the more lofty when it came to the young men that wanted to spend time with his daughters. Sarah's boyfriend, a genial man by the name of Clint, went through several rigorous tests of character before Jeff warmed up to him. The two had been together since their senior year of high school despite the fact that he was studying in Wisconsin and Sarah was at Johns Hopkins.

"Well, he's part of the National Honor Society, he used to be a junior class rep in Student Council last year, he plays clarinet, and he's the co-captain of the boys' cross country team."

"They just won second overall downstate, didn't they?" Elizabeth was almost unable to conceal her grin when her father's voice cut into the Jason-centered conversation. This was _definitely_ a good sign.

"Yup. And Jason won first in the individual 1600 relay."

Her father's eyebrows shot up and he resumed poking at his near-empty plate in an attempt not to show how impressed he was. But both Elizabeth and her mother knew better.

"So," he began slowly, finally setting his fork down. "About this boy…"

"He has a name, Dad," Elizabeth replied sweetly, sitting back in her chair and folding her legs underneath her. "The least you could do is use it."

Jeff rolled his eyes but obliged, not wanting to start yet another fight. Because if he did, one thing was for sure: Caroline would not hesitate to put him on the couch this time. "Fine – _Jason. _Now, what other classes is _Jason _in?"

"AP Calculus, AP Psychology, Journalism, Marketing, and AP Physics," Elizabeth ticked off, smirking at the memory of Jason's _sex fun _AP Physics shirt.

"Who are his friends? Do I know any of them?"

"Duh, Dad – like I said, him and Sonny grew up together."

"Does he drink?"

"Dad!"

"What? Does he?"

"No! Of course not – he's a runner."

"Drugs?"

"Jeff-"

"No, Dad."

Jeff was about to launch into another round of questions when the phone rang. He noticed Elizabeth and his wife exchange some sort of secret glance before Elizabeth announced, "I'll get it!" and typical to the way of teenage daughters, ran off to destroy lamps and run over grandmothers on her way to the ringing telephone.

As soon as Elizabeth had left the room, Caroline turned a displeased eye on her husband.

"What?" he exclaimed helplessly. "What have I done now?"

She just shook her head at him. "Sometimes. Jeff, I just don't understand you." Before he could get out a word in protest of the fact that his daughter was deliberately growing up and that he didn't recall giving _anyone _permission to grow up, Caroline effectively silenced him. "I don't want to hear it, Jeff. Last night, you were totally out of line, and you're not doing much better right now."

"Last night?" he exclaimed. "I thought we were past last night!"

She rolled her emerald eyes at him, her lips twisting into a sour expression. "You're pushing it, buddy, when you go all Spanish Inquisition on her. Did you not expect that one day, Elizabeth would find some nice boy that she'd want to spend time with? Sarah did, and you weren't nearly as bad with her. Sure, you practically gave Clint a heart attack on numerous occasions, but you never railed against Sarah."

"That was different –"

"Why?" his wife inquired. "Because she's Sarah? Because she's the oldest? Is that it?"

"No," Jeff denied vehemently, so vehemently that Caroline knew she had guessed right.

"Then what, Jeff?" she asked, deciding to humor him. "Why in the world are you so worked up over this?"

"What I can't believe is that you're _not_!" her husband exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation. "You're just sitting there, perfectly willing to give up our daughter to some strange boy, and not even thinking of what we _should _be doing – checking out all girls' private schools called Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow or something."

Caroline had to laugh at that, knowing that Jeff wasn't serious but giving in to his sometimes-humorous tendency to exaggerate, just like when he had refused to call Jason anything but "the enemy". The man had even come home after that disastrous car ride and searched for his commander hat and chipmunk rifle, which she had hidden years ago because it gave him war nightmares.

"Honey, I love you, but you're crazy."

She rose from the table and stacked up the dishes before carrying them into the kitchen. Jeff twisted in his chair to watch her retreating form.

"You think I'm overreacting, don't you?"

Knowing he couldn't see her expression, Caroline rolled her eyes as she set the plates in the sink. "No, dear, of course not. Your concerns are completely legitimate."

"Thank – wait a minute. Stop patronizing me." He was pouting now, like a child, and his light blonde hair had fallen across his forehead.

Unable to wipe the smirk from her face, Caroline patted his arm soothingly as she took up her chair next to him again. "Wouldn't dream of it, darling."

He sulked in the cushioned seat, and she had to make a conscious effort to control her laughter. It was all fun and games right now, but if she laughed at him, he'd _really _get his panties in a twist.

With a sigh, Caroline picked up her paper napkin and twisted it in her fingers, twining it through her long digits. She might as well start now, without Elizabeth, who could barely be heard from the other room as she chattered away on the telephone.

"Do you want to talk about it, honey?"

His light blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Not if you're going to patronize me."

She smiled warmly at him and nodded once. "All right. I won't. So go ahead – why are you so upset over this? It's completely natural, dear. Don't you remember yourself at their age?"

Jeff sank his head into his hands. "Of course I do," he replied, his voice sounding as if it was being filtered through sandpaper. "And it's precisely because of that memory that I'm convinced that there's no such thing as a nice teenage boy."

"Oh, Jeff," Caroline scoffed. "If ever there _was _a nice teenage boy, Jason is it. He's an honor roll student, a state conference runner, he's been volunteering at the hospital since he was ten, and remember last summer? He saved that dog from the burning train car."

"Boxcar," Jeff corrected her even though it was irrelevant. "Interesting word choice, though – if ever there was a phrase to describe boys his age, 'burning train' is it."

"Jeff, I'm warning you, either you get serious or-"

"Fine, fine," he sputtered, flattening his palms against the table. "I don't want her to mess up the rest of the school year or do something else she regrets just because she's too wrapped up with some boy." His wife opened her mouth to interject, but he pushed ahead. "I don't want her grades to slip because of this – we've never had to worry about her before when it came to school, but she could very easily be distracted from what's important if she spends too much time with Jason. And what if she misses out on doing some of the things she's wanted to do – during school and over the summer, even – because she's too busy with him? She's always classes over the summer for art and photography – what if, because of spending too much time with Jason, she decides that she doesn't want to anymore? What about her music, and the scholarship she's been working for over the last four years? What about all of that? "

Caroline waited patiently until he had finished his almost incoherent rambling before gently closing her hand over his. "I understand what you're saying, Jeff, but you're missing a very important point. I'd be worried, too, if Jason wasn't the person he is. He's a smart, friendly, understanding, and considerate boy, and I honestly don't think you have any cause for worry when it comes to them."

"What? There is _always _a cause for worry when there's a boy sniffing around one of my daugh-"

"He's not just any boy, Jeff," she spoke above his ranting. "He shares the same interests that Elizabeth does. He's obviously very serious about school, just like our daughter, and after graduation, you can bet that he's not just going to flip burgers down the block. He's focused and he's driven, the two words you've always used to describe Elizabeth. College is in his future just like it's in hers. And besides school alone, they have more in common. He understands her commitment to the paper, obviously, because he made a similar one to the cross-country team. Remember back when the kids were babies?"

Her voice was softer now as she remembered the days when Sarah and Elizabeth, both wearing Winnie the Pooh or the Cabbage Patch Kids or the animated fad of the week with the red leather tap shoes they insisted on wearing everywhere. "We always talked about how, when they grew older, we'd try to get them to join as many activities and clubs as we could. Not only for the extra learning experience and the chance to meet new people, but the fact that kids who are involved in those sorts of activities have less idle time in which to use drugs or drink or make other bad decisions. Fortunately, neither of our daughters have. Both did well in school, just like Jason does. Both were members of one club or another to which they devoted a good chunk of time, just like Jason does with his track team. And both our daughters play musical instruments, just like Jason does."

She tapped her fingers over his hand and he had little choice but to admit she was right.

"They share the same interests, Jeff, and I honestly don't see how Jason would lead her away from all of the things she loves. He understands that because he's as active as she is, if not more so. And thankfully, because of running, he doesn't drink or do anything that we've forbidden our girls to. And besides," she quirked an eyebrow at Jeff and his weakening resolve before continuing. "Don't we believe that Elizabeth has enough self-esteem and personal integrity to do the things she wants to do despite what other people think she should? I know I do."

She was indirectly referring to Jeff's pressuring their youngest to attend Johns Hopkins, but that was a battle for another day. For now, she'd be happy if he just admitted there was nothing wrong with her and Jason spending time together, and if he'd lay off the hysterics whenever the boy was in the vicinity.

Jeff sighed heavily, and the set of his shoulders told her she'd won. "You're right," he admitted. "But I also think you're underestimating peer pressure. I just don't want Elizabeth to get hurt by this – any of it."

Caroline's brows pulled into a deep V. "What do you mean?"

"College is a few months away," Jeff explained, cupping his chin in his hand as he looked at his wife. "Who knows where all these kids are going? Who knows if Elizabeth and Brenda will even stay friends, or Elizabeth and Sonny? Who can tell? No one. I don't want her to get too involved only to have to let go in a few months."

"Isn't that part of life, though, Jeff?" Caroline asked softly. "Meeting people and then letting them go?"

He didn't reply, choosing instead to stare into the living room ahead of them.

"Remember back when the girls were young and they wanted a dog? You told them that a dog wouldn't like our house, but the real reason was that you didn't want them to have to deal with the death of a pet. I know that's because Minnie died when you were fifteen, and you didn't want the girls to go through that. And then finally, we got them a bunch of goldfish, and they all died after a month. Sure, it was easier on the girls because they weren't as personally attached to the fish as they would have been to a dog, or as you were to Minnie, but regardless, death and loss is a natural part of life. We can't protect them from it – they can deal with it, Jeff."

"Elizabeth's never had to deal with that before," her husband pointed out. "Everyone she loves is with her. She didn't have that many friends back in Colorado because there just weren't very many kids in our neighborhood, so fortunately, the move wasn't that bad. But what if she really gets attached to Jason? Long distance relationships usually don't work, and I don't want her to have to go through that. Not every couple is like Sarah and Clint."

Caroline sighed. "So you're more prepared to write her and Jason off and protest this whole thing than giving them the benefit of a doubt and letting them explore their relationship, if it even becomes a relationship? Don't you think you're being a bit rash?"

"No."

"Well, I do. It's up to her and Jason if they want to be together. It's up to them if they want to break it off before college – again, assuming there _is _an _it _– or if they want to stay together. We can always give her advice, honey, but this isn't our call."

She could tell by the defeated look in his eyes that he accepted her arguments, but Jeff had more to say.

"What if she gets in trouble like…her cousin?" Jeff's voice was hushed now. The topic of Elizabeth's cousin in Pennsylvania was somewhat taboo. Leslie had gotten pregnant during her senior year of high school, and the news sent shockwaves through the entire family. It didn't matter that the father of the baby was her boyfriend of three years. It didn't matter that he was interned at a business firm and had a scholarship for college. It didn't matter that he was willing to help support his child and Leslie. Eventually, both families had agreed on adoption, and that was that. The incident was brushed under the rug and Leslie went on to college and was just beginning her first year of graduate school.

Caroline didn't know what she could say to Jeff's question, so she remained silent for a long moment. Whereas his other gripes with the boy had been harmless in nature, she knew this one was genuine. And it wasn't even about Jason anymore – it was a concern that most parents had for their adolescent children.

She exhaled deeply and shrugged. "We've taught them well, Jeff. Sarah and Elizabeth both. They're good kids, and I guess that's good enough. We've done all we can, and I don't think we could have done any more, or that we even need to do any more. They're smart and they're responsible, and I really don't know what else to say to make you feel better."

He shrugged. "That's okay. It was unfair of me – I didn't expect you to have an answer. You're right, though. Every parent wonders the same thing. It's not personal or meant as an affront to either of them." He slapped the table with his palms. "Well, I've exceeded my quota for depression in one day. Let's talk about something else."

Caroline quirked a smile at him. "It'll give us an excuse to see Alan and Monica more regularly." She laughed when her husband rolled his eyes – he wasn't too fond of Alan after his comment about being in-laws. "We've never had a chance to sit with them and talk like we used to before we went to Mercy."

Jeff nodded. "I do miss them. And at least we know the parents."

His wife pumped her head enthusiastically – now they were getting somewhere. "Exactly. And we know they're nice people."

"Actually," Jeff smirked. "I would have preferred it if they weren't so nice. I mean, if she was a professional wrestler and he was a prison guard, I wouldn't be so worried when Elizabeth went over to their house or something."

Caroline laughed and closed her fingers over his hand. She was rewarded with a soft squeeze, and it seemed as if Jeff Webber had been roused from the anti-Jason funk that had enveloped him for the last day.

Elizabeth strolled back into the dining room, undoing her bun and combing her fingers through the wet curls.

"Hey," her mother smiled at her, not removing her hands from her husband's. "What was that about?"

"Nothing," Elizabeth replied, picking up two water glasses from the table and moving toward the kitchen. "It was Johnny. He wanted to know if I would do something for the talent show with him and Luke."

Her mother grabbed the remaining glass and followed her daughter into the kitchen.

"Talent show?" Jeff asked, his eyes lighting up. "I took part in a talent show back in high school. I still remember it – I played the accordion. That was what was considered hip back in the day. Not like that music you people play now – a mix between hard rock and extra loud. No, sir, in our day, we played accordions. And I was the king…"

Elizabeth and Caroline both snickered as they placed the glasses in the sink. Their backs turned to Jeff, who was still waxing on about his accordion playing skills, Elizabeth leaned into her mother and whispered softly.

"How'd it go?"

Caroline's smile was quick and bright. "Worked like a charm."


	13. Movie, Dinner, Pneumonia

**Movie, Dinner, Pneumonia**

_This takes place on Friday in late April, right after the Induction ceremony and the conversion of Jeff Webber._

Lorenzo Alcazar loved to teach.

But it was on days when all of his students had taken it upon themselves to end class ten minutes early and dance around the room singing tunes from _My Fair Lady _that he really wondered if instruction was his true calling.

Maybe he'd do better as a prison warden.

Or a mobster.

Now that was a thought – mobsters had to worry about rival mobsters and the feds. _He _couldn't even handle a handful of teenagers who were combating their pre-lunch low blood sugar levels by reciting original cast recordings of hit Broadway musicals.

"Fine, fine," he relented, waving his hand at them as he slumped in to his chair. "Have it your way, you crazies. I give up. For the day, that is."

Across the room, Marcus Taggert grinned at him. "Smooth move, Czar. You lost us at integration of _e, _anyway."

The lunch bell rang soon enough and the students charged out of the room like their pants were on fire. Sonny nudged Jason before leaving the room himself, and Mr. Alcazar turned his attention to the messy pile of papers on his desk.

Jason shuffled over to Elizabeth, who was still stuffing papers into her book. "You wanna go out for lunch?"

She gave him a regretful smile as she stood, balancing the textbook on her head. "Sorry, I can't. I have to get a few memos typed up."

He shrugged, the butterflies in his stomach dancing. There was no logical reason that he still feel nervous around her, but there was no telling that to his nerves. "That's fine – no big deal. You want to do something tonight?"

And there it was: his invitation to their first date.

Elizabeth stopped and stood still for a minute, biting her lip. When she looked at him, the sparkle in her eyes told him that she wasn't likely to refuse. The butterflies stopped doing the macarena and turned to the congo instead.

"What did you have in mind?" Her smile was slow and sexy, and he liked the way she still made his heart flutter with the way she looked at him.

"Well," he began, unable to stop the infectious grin that crept to his own lips. "I was thinking a movie…"

"I like the sound of that," she purred, lowering the book to her hip. "Go on."

"And then maybe dinner afterwards?"

She smiled at how hopeful he sounded, as if he honestly believed there was a possibility of her turning him down. "Sounds wonderful."

Jason's eyes glittered. "Pick you up at seven?"

"Seven works for me," she replied cheerfully as she steered them to the door. She called out goodbye to her teacher and left the room, and Jason could have sworn he caught the tail end of a smirk on his math teacher's face.

"Not a word, Czar."

Mr. Alcazar chuckled, a deep, throaty sound. "You kids have fun, now," he called out as the door clicked shut behind the boy.

* * *

"Did you do it?" Sonny was waiting for him at his locker, all ready to head out for lunch.

Jason shook his head at the eager note in his best friend's voice. "Of course, Sonny. What did you think – I'd chicken out?"

"Yeah," Sonny replied honestly and quickly. Too quickly.

The simple word earned him a dark frown from his friend as he grabbed his books from his locker. "Look, we've been together for almost a month. Don't you think the novelty would have worn off by now? Jesus, Sonny – there's no need for me to be nervous around her anymore."

The impish grin and accompanying dimples that appeared on Sonny's face made Jason want to punch him.

"Shut up."

Sonny just laughed and followed his best friend as they tumbled down the stairs, taking them two at a time. "Seriously, though, Jase," he got out as they left the building. "You want a few pointers?"

"From you?" Jason asked, the skepticism evident in his voice. "On how to date Elizabeth?"

"No," Sonny replied witheringly. "On the fam."

"Oh. Sure, I guess."

"You ever met her dad?" The weather was warmer now, especially since it was the mid-day hour, but the sky was still gray as the two boys made their way to Jason's black Jeep.

"Once, I think. About a year or two ago at this one hospital party."

"And?"

"I didn't really talk to him – just said hello and then we split."

"Well, let me tell you," Sonny said, sliding into the passenger seat. "He's the one you've got to watch out for."

"Really?"

The Cuban nodded immediately. "Oh, yeah."

Jason shook his head as he reversed and pulled out of the school parking lot. "Do I even want to know how you know this?"

"Back during sophomore year, I think he thought that I wanted to go out with Beth or something. It took a while for him to believe that we were just friends, but he really freaked me out whenever I came over to the house during the first few times."

"Really?" Jason gulped. "What did he do?"

"The standard intimidation act. It was creepy, man. And then I think he was afraid that I'd ask her to Homecoming or whatever, so when I came in, he was fashioning a noose. And he kept making references to rat poison."

"Oh, great."

"But, hey, no sweat, right?" Sonny asked, clapping him on the shoulder. "You said your parents are friends with them."

"Yeah, and it might actually make a difference if he knew me. But he doesn't – like I said, we've only met once. I've talked to her mom a couple times without even knowing it, so I'm not worried about her. But the Man – not feeling too secure there."

"You'll be fine as long as you remember a few things," Sonny advised him with all the wisdom of an ancient saint. "Never, ever, under any circumstances, pull into the driveway and honk. I did that once because we were late for volunteering, and Beth told me later that he was completely pissed off."

"No honking. Got it." Jason pulled the car to a stop at the stoplight and patiently waited as Sonny continued.

"Another one of his pet peeves – don't ever touch Beth when you're in front of him." Noticing that this piece of well-meaning advice earned him a particularly stern look from him, Sonny went on the defensive. "Hey, man, don't look at me like that – I just put my arm on her shoulder for a second."

Jason scowled slightly and turned into the plaza where they usually went when they felt like pizza. "What else?"

"Answer all his questions clearly. Don't talk too much – don't use seven words when four will do."

"I don't think I have a problem there."

"Well, true, but I'm just saying. And if she's making you late, do _not _look at your watch and sigh."

"Okay. Anything else?" He parked the car and undid his seatbelt, waiting as Sonny thought.

"Oh, and don't have her home late. We went to a Pep Club dinner together one night and I ran into some PTA members in the parking lot. They just kept yapping and yapping, and when I dropped Beth off we were about half an hour late. Fortunately, it wasn't that big of a deal because we weren't going out or anything, so as far as Mr. Webber was concerned I was harmless. But I bet you anything he's not going to be as lenient when it comes to you."

Jason hopped out of the Jeep with a big sigh, slamming the door behind him. "No kidding."

* * *

The grandfather clock in the hall read 6:53 p.m., and while Elizabeth was having a hard time finding her shoes, her father was having a hard time breathing.

Caroline was in the process of rearranging the bouquets of artificial flowers she kept all over the house as her husband paced in the living room.

"Honey, you're going to wear a rut in the carpet," she pointed out as she set some silk roses on the coffee table. "Calm down."

"This is too soon," Jeff complained. "I wasn't even given fair notice about this – why wasn't I given fair notice?"

His wife rolled her eyes as she stuffed the baby's breath into the vase. "It was spur-of-the-moment, Jeff," she pointed out. "Elizabeth didn't even know until today. It's no big deal – they're just going to go see a movie and have a burger. Let them have their fun."

"Oh, you think I'm against this because I don't want her to have any fun?" Jeff accused. "Well, you're wrong!"

Caroline's short ponytail was waving, indicating that she had just shook her head at his seemingly erratic behavior.

"It's not because I don't want her to have fun," he insisted. "I would be more than willing to spend hours and hours with my children playing a game called Let's Learn, in which I would relate to them instructive and inspiring stories about my own childhood. Talk about fun!"

His wife snorted at that, but wisely decided to keep her comments to herself.

"What I don't want my daughter to play is any variation of the game Let's Grope. I find no value in having some teenage boy practice his hand-eye coordination on one of my girls - Ow!"

He only narrowly managed to duck the box of tissues Caroline tossed at him, but it clipped him on the shoulder anyway.

"What was that for!" he demanded, rubbing his shoulder and frowning at his wife, who stood with her hands on her hips in front of him.

"Jeff Webber, that is quite enough out of you," she hissed. "Jason's a nice boy, and that is that."

Stepping around him, she made her way to the potted tree in the corner of the room and began to dust off the leaves, trying to ignore Jeff when he continued to mutter under his breath.

"He's a boy, that's what he is. A burning train. Remember? We had this conversation. Why would I want something like that in my home?"

"Well, no one cares what you want if you're going to be such a baby," she snipped, whipping back to face the plant.

"Oh, sure," he pouted. "I only get a vote in family matters if I agree with you."

The words were out of his mouth before he realized it, but he instantly knew they'd be sure to get him into even more trouble. Caroline abandoned her plant, turning on one heel and glaring pointedly at him.

"Are you saying my judgment isn't wise, Jeff? I advise you to choose your words carefully."

Already stung but not wanting to end up in the doghouse, Jeff had no choice but to tuck his tail between his legs. "No."

"Good," Caroline smiled. "Now, don't you think you should comb your hair? It's almost seven – Jason'll be here any minute."

Jeff scowled at her back as she walked into the dining room. It wasn't enough that the deviant was coming into his home and removing one of his daughters from his protection without any sort of radio collar or other reasonable tracking aid, but he had to _look good _for him?

"Hell, no," he muttered, quickly mussing up his hair a bit. That would show the miscreant who was boss.

"Elizabeth, honey," his wife called, reappearing in the living room. "Hurry down. It's seven o'clock."

"Coming!"

"Take your time," her father called up. "If you don't feel like coming down, you don't have to. In fact, why don't I just call Jack up and tell him that you've changed your mind? Honey, where's my address book?"

"It's _Jason, _Dad. And don't you dare – I'm coming!"

Jeff stuffed his hands into his pockets, turning his back to his wife who he was sure was rolling her eyes at him.

"Oh, Jeff, don't you remember being that age?" she asked patronizingly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Of course I do," he replied immediately. "And that's my point. But when I was in high school, I used to be _terrified _of my girlfriend's father. He would open the door and immediately affect a good-naturedly murderous expression, and his grip, when I shook his hand, felt like it could squeeze carbon into diamonds."

"And then you met me, and I was a walk in the park, right?" came a deep voice to his right. Steve Hardy, his father-in-law, winked at him on his way into the kitchen for some water.

Caroline was grinning, but Jeff wasn't. "Steve, you scared the crap out me for the first six months after I met you."

"Oh, come now," the older man huffed, taking a sip from his Dasani. "I was good."

"You got out your rifle and took a shot at me in the backyard!" Jeff exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. "How is that being good?"

"I was shooting at that crazy rabbit that was raiding Audrey's garden," Steve replied defensively before breaking off into gruff laughter. "Whoosh," he winked at his daughter. "I can't even say that with a straight face."

"Ha, ha," Jeff chortled. "Very funny."

"Oh, son," the old man soothed, clapping a hand on his back. "Don't worry – everything will be fine. You worry too much."

"Don't be fooled; he enjoys it," Caroline interjected, raising an eyebrow at her husband. "All the freaking out appeals to him."

The doorbell rang and Jeff froze in place for a moment. But when Caroline moved to answer the door, he quickly sprang into action.

"I'll get it," he said, reaching the front hall and pulling the heavy white door open to reveal his newest enemy.

"Evening, Mr. Webber," Jason smiled amiably, instantly extending a hand. Jeff eyed it suspiciously for a moment and then returned the handshake. His grip was as tight as he could force it to be, but if the young man was fazed, he didn't show it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Jason, honey, hello," Caroline beamed behind her husband, pinching his shoulder blade to get him to release the boy's hand. "Come on in. Elizabeth will be down in a minute."

"Thank you very much," he made sure to reply. Jeff still barred the doorway, giving him barely enough room to squeeze in.

"Sit, please," Caroline instructed, leading him to the living room. "Are you thirsty? Would you like something to drink?"

"I'd love a glass of water, actually," Jason replied, and Caroline instantly got up. "Thank you."

When his wife was safely out of earshot, Jeff strolled over to the couch, his hands clasped behind him and his footsteps deliberate in an attempt to be as formidable as possible.

When he took his seat opposite the boy, he made sure to do so slowly, with a hard, stoic expression on his face.

"I'm so glad to see you," he began, injecting his voice with just the right amount of fake sincerity. "I was afraid that no boy would want to go out with my daughter after what I did to the last one."

Jason licked his lips but didn't reply, and Jeff didn't like the ghost of a smirk that passed over the young man's lips.

"So, Jack, tell me a bit about yourself-"

"Actually, it's Jason, Mr. Webber."

Jeff ran his tongue over his teeth, sizing up the competition as it sat so relaxed and easily before him. "All right. _Jason. _Actually, let's skip the formalities; I already know all I need to know about you.

Jason blinked at that, but kept himself from showing any other signs of surprise.

"Tell me, what are your intentions with my daughter?"

Jason swallowed. This was the question he hated most. "Well, sir, we usually go out to lunch with Sonny and Brenda, but she had work to do today. So I thought we could just go out for dinner and maybe see a movie."

"Movie," Jeff mused. "Ah. Novel idea." His eyes bore into Jason's, flashing in what he hoped was an intimidating manner. "Here are my rules for entertainment. There are certain places that are not appropriate for a date with my daughter. These are places with beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. These are also places lacking parents, policemen, or nuns."

Normally, Jason would have chuckled engagingly at the comment, but he wasn't so sure that Mr. Webber was kidding. He glanced at the kitchen, wondering where Ms. Webber was, before he remembered Sonny's rule about always looking the Man in the eye.

"Also, places where there is dancing, hand-holding, or happiness of any kind. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided, but movies with chain saws are okay. Hockey games are extremely okay, as are pro-wrestling matches."

He heard his wife pouring water into a glass in the kitchen and he knew he'd have to talk fast if he wanted to get his message across. Jeff's motto for dating had always been: wilt 'em in the living room and they'll stay wilted all night.

"Now, Jason, I have no doubt that you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my daughter, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you."

Jason smiled to himself at that. "Not a problem, sir."

But Jeff wasn't so easily convinced of his sincerity, and leaned over the edge of his seat to drive his point home. "If you make her cry, I make _you_ cry."

He watched as the small smile on Jason's face vanished, and narrowed his eyes suspiciously when the boy nodded.

"Why, hello, there."

Jeff looked up in time to see Steve stride regally across the room to where Jason sat, his hands clasped over his knees. The older gentleman immediately stuck out one hand that Jason shook promptly, and clapped the boy on the shoulder.

"You must be Jason. I'm Steve, Elizabeth's grandpappy – good to see you."

Jason smiled instantly at the man. "Likewise. Elizabeth's told me a lot about you."

The older man chuckled and Jeff glowered, not liking that Jason already felt comfortable around another family member. If it were up to him, the boy would be quivering in his tennis shoes by now.

Caroline reentered the room with Jason's water, and Jeff waited until the boy took his first sip before asking, "So, Jason, what exactly are the terms of your probation?"

His wife gasped and had to restrain herself from smacking his shoulder, but much to Jeff's dismay, instead of getting fidgety, Jason only laughed.

"I've never even gotten a ticket, Mr. Webber," he replied jovially before gulping down his water.

_Great, _Jeff thought to himself. _There's nothing more dangerous than a criminal that can't be caught. _

"Jason! Hey!" Elizabeth hopped down the stairs, fastening the clasp of her black boots. She wore simple black knit pants and a maroon sweater, and had pulled her hair into a ponytail for the evening. Her outfit was simple and she wore no makeup save the plum lip gloss that shined in the light of the table lamp, but Jason thought she looked amazing as always.

"Hey," he smiled, rising from his seat. "You ready to go?"

"Sure," she smiled, retrieving her black coat from the hall closet. She gestured at the adults, quirking an eyebrow at her father in particular. "They haven't been pestering you, have they?" she teased.

"Not a bit," Jason grinned, stepping into the hall to help her with her coat. He turned around and smiled at her parents and grandfather. "It was nice meeting all of you. Thank you for the water, Ms. Webber."

"Anytime, dear," she smiled. "You kids have fun now."

"Bye," Elizabeth smiled, pushing Jason out of the house and glaring at her father before shutting the door.

* * *

Elizabeth slurped up the last sip of her soda, her eyes riveted to the screen where an armed detective made his way through the dark warehouse in search of the international serial killer he had spent his entire life hunting down.

The theater wasn't very crowded, which was unusual for a Friday night, but it was freezing as usual. To remedy this problem, Jason had put up the armrest that separated their seats and now the two of them were snuggled together on the bench, finishing off the last of the popcorn.

For the sake of dinner conversation, Jason had been trying his best to follow along with the movie, but Elizabeth was making it very difficult for him to maintain his concentration. Every time she shifted, he was acutely aware of it. First, it was when her thigh had brushed against his, and then when her hand traveled to the popcorn tub in his lap, and then when her shoulder pressed against his, and finally when she cuddled up next to him, resting her head in the crook of his shoulder. It took him forever to ease his head over, slowly, until he was able to safely rest it on her hair without her noticing immediately.

They had sat in that position for a good deal of the movie without any of the awkwardness he had almost expected. Jason's thoughts drifted back to what her father had said about chain-saw movies and the like being okay, and he almost regretted their choice in movie viewing. Surely, there was hardly anything romantic about suspense thrillers.

No sooner had the depressing thought crossed his mind than the villain emerged immediately behind the unsuspecting federal agent, armed and ready to finish off his opponent.

This was a particularly shocking development, and several screams could be heard throughout the dark theater. One of those screams belonged to Elizabeth, who had jumped halfway into his lap as soon as the camera revealed the villain's scarred profile.

Jason wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close as she gaped at the screen, completely oblivious to her surroundings or the fact that she was sitting on top of him.

A sinister, satisfied smile crept onto his face despite the frightening gunshots that rang throughout the room.

When it came to the rules, Mr. Webber hadn't thought of everything.

* * *

The concept of curfew was simple enough, Jeff Webber decided. It was the designated time by which the nice boy dating his daughter had to have her back in his house or be subject to arrest.

But teenagers simply didn't comprehend the purpose of a curfew, which despite popular belief had nothing to do with making sure they were home on time, or as his daughter often put it, to "punish her for being alive". No, the entire purpose of a curfew was to allow the father to sleep at night.

Jeff had never been able to sleep if Elizabeth wasn't safely inside, and the fact that she was out with a boy made matters all the more worse. He _couldn't _sleep; it had become an impossibility. If he lay in bed, he knew he'd wind up twisting the sheets into a tight cocoon. Besides, the dark would allow his mind to wander into areas where, frankly, he didn't even want to go. He'd recall being sixteen and how much room he had to maneuver in the backseat of his dad's Buick – and when he remembered just which maneuvers he was attempting, he'd flash into an awakened state for which the term "insomnia" was a gross understatement.

"Jeff, stop pacing," Caroline ordered as she flipped through her magazine.

"I can't," he replied, his eyes glued to the weave of the rug he was currently wearing a figure-eight into. "Maybe I should call Alan."

"What on earth for?" his wife demanded, peering up at him from the pages of _Cosmo _as if he'd totally lost his mind.

"Hey, _I'm _not sleeping," Jeff pointed out, waving a finger in the air. "He shouldn't be sleeping either."

From his perch on the sofa across from the television screen that was blaring a late game between the Celtics and the Pacers, Steve couldn't help but chuckle.

"He's bound to sound a bit smug over the fact that his kid's the burning train in this scenario, though," Jeff muttered to himself.

"Maybe you should tell him Bethie's coming down with the Ebola virus," his father-in-law advised without removing his eyes from the screen. "Or worse, tell him she plans to run for Congress."

In her corner, Caroline was laughing. "Are you sure you're _my_ father, Daddy?" she teased. "Because right now, you and Jeff seem to have way more in common."

Her father shrugged. "Once a man has daughter, hysterics come naturally."

"Amen to that," Jeff mumbled, resuming his pacing.

A distant rumbling, soft and soothing in the night attracted his attention, and Caroline watched as her husband strode over to the living room windows and peeked out from behind the curtains.

"They're home," he announced, the relief evident in his voice. "They made it."

"Hallelujah," his wife muttered, resuming her Cosmo Girl Quiz. "Maybe now you can start acting civilized again."

"Don't count on it," her father muttered under his breath, shooting a playful glance at his son-in-law.

But Jeff was too relieved to join in on the customary ribbing. "I'm just glad they're back," he sighed, sinking onto the couch. "Now I can stop worrying."

"Can I get that in writing?" his wife inquired. "I'd like to have it notarized and filed with the U.S. Patent Office."

"Oh, you're such a card," he sneered, leaning his head back on to the throw cushions. "My wife is a walking laugh riot."

Her smile was bright and teasing. "I do what I can."

"I have no doubt," he muttered, leaning back onto the sofa. A round of applause erupted from the television screen and Steve stood up, whooping loudly as the Celtics won the game.

Audrey, dressed in her pink terrycloth robe with her white cotton pajama pants poking out underneath, was on her way to the kitchen and stopped to stare at him in confusion.

Steve noticed her scrutiny and sat down calmly once again, flipping the channel to CNN. His wife abandoned her quest to the kitchen and joined him on the sofa to watch the latest news.

Five minutes passed, and still there was no sign of Elizabeth. Jeff was getting antsy, and finally gave up and peeked out through the white curtains again.

"What are they doing?" he asked himself, straining to see outside. From the looks of things, the two of them were still sitting in Jason's Jeep, and Jeff didn't like that idea very much.

Apparently, it was okay with the other three adults in the house – all of whom _professed _to be looking out for Elizabeth – if Jason's car was merely _in the driveway _by curfew.

It just sat there, giving Jeff hot and cold flashes and forcing him to pace around again repeating "What are they _doing_?" to himself even though he didn't actually want to know.

His wife didn't seem too concerned by the turn of events, which only proved to Jeff that she was crazy. He made a mental note to always watch out should Elizabeth ask her mother for a curfew time. Who knew what crazy answer that woman would give? Even worse, mothers often did not take the time necessary to explain to the nice boy what would happen to him if he brought his date home even one minute after curfew, whereas fathers would painstakingly walk the boy through the consequences, using chopping and strangling gestures with their hands, in order that the young man retain a graphic picture in his mind. This was very helpful to the nice boy.

So after fiddling around with the lights, flashing them on and off much to the displeasure of his spouse and her parents, and beaming a powerful flashlight at the Jeep in such a manner that any other two people on earth would get the hint, Jeff had no choice but to storm upstairs.

Caroline watched him go, and wasn't all that certain she wanted to know what he was up to.

But he returned a few minutes later wearing his pajamas and blue robe and made his way straight to the garage.

"Jeff, what on earth-"

But her husband was already gone before she could ask him what he was planning on doing, and Caroline was left to stare at her parents with the same confusion on her face that was on theirs.

They all instantly filed over to the windows, straining to see against the glare of the lights. The sight outside made Caroline want to bang her head against the glass in frustration.

Sure enough, there was Jeff pretending to inspect the rain gutters and bumping into the car with the ladder a few times until the doors opened.

"Dad, why are you doing that right now?" Elizabeth demanded peevishly, glaring at her father in a manner she could only have learned from her mother.

"Well, hello," he called gaily to the two of them. "What a surprise. I didn't realize you were out here. I assumed that since it is past curfew you were already safe inside the house."

Jason slid Elizabeth a sidelong glance, and she looked as if she was going to strangle someone. Before she could open her mouth, he stepped forward and plunged himself into the line of fire.

"Would you like some help with that, Mr. Webber?"

Jeff glared at him. _Oh, he thinks he has me fooled, but I'm not falling for it_.

"Actually, yes, if you wouldn't mind moving your car back to your house, that would make this easier," he told him. What would really make it easier would be if he'd move his car back to his house and leave it there, but Jeff didn't bother to mention this. Despite the fact that the interloper was a brand new addition to their familial sphere, his popularity polls were higher than Jeff's own. So for now, he'd somehow have to tolerate his pestiferous presence.

Jason nodded and managed a small smile, wondering if Mr. Webber would ever warm up to him. Elizabeth had walked over around the car and was standing next to him, and he looked down at her when her small hand squeezed his shoulder.

"I had a great time tonight, Jason," she smiled before narrowing her eyes at her father. "Thank you."

He smiled at her and did what only came naturally – he kissed her goodnight.

Jeff Webber did not like that one bit.

As any reasonable father knew, teenage girls had no business kissing teenage boys. To prevent this from happening, fathers were urged to do everything possible to reduce romantic influences. Standing around in his bathrobe checking rain gutters should have been highly effective in this regard, but it did little to forestall an inappropriate commingling of oral bacteria.

As with most of the occasions when Jason kissed her, the kiss became deeper than either of them had intended. And even though her father lingered there, clearing his throat, coughing lightly, and murmuring, "That's enough, now," they still engaged in a goodnight kiss whose purpose seemed to be to subject their brains to oxygen deprivation.

As with a dogfight, Jeff had to resist the almost overwhelming urge to thrust his hands between the two and attempt to separate them. It was tough, but he told himself that he didn't want to physically touch either of them when they were doing _that. _

A better solution was clearly to use the garden hose.

"Oh, my god," Caroline got out as she saw her husband reach for the off-white knob on the side of the garage. "Jeff, please, no."

"What's he doing?" her father demanded to know, peering over his wife for a better look.

"Oh, gracious," Audrey muttered, covering her mouth with her hand.

As soon as Jeff's hand closed on the head of the hose, Caroline was sprinting out of the living room and was out the front door.

But it was too late – Jason was completely drenched from head to toe.

Elizabeth stood stock still in the driveway, gaping at her father with a look of total horror on her face. From the living room, her grandparents stared at the scene in shock as well. Or rather, Audrey was shocked. Steve, on the other hand, had to sit down because he was laughing so hard.

Caroline's tall frame blocked out the light from the inside and her shadow cast down on her husband. She raked her green eyes over the utter chaos before her: Elizabeth looked about ready to completely flip her lid, Jason was sopping wet, and her husband stood with the smoking gun – or, dripping hose – in his hand.

"Jeffrey Webber."

He turned around, hearing the hard edge to her voice as she spoke his name. From the way he stared at her, Caroline wasn't sure if he realized what he'd just done, but now was not the time to deal with him.

"Jason, honey, I am so sorry," she apologized, making her way to the boy that stood in the middle of the driveway. His jeans were completely soaked through, and the sweatshirt he wore over his shirt was sopping and clung to his body. Even his golden hair was crowned with water droplets, glistening like diamonds in the night.

"It's okay," he replied easily, shaking his left hand away from his body. He peered at his sports watch and was relieved to see that it really was waterproof. "No big deal."

"No big-" Elizabeth sputtered, trying to control herself. She didn't even look at her father as she moved closer, wiping a hand over his cheek and chin. "Dear Lord."

"Here are some towels, dear." Her grandmother appeared out of the blue with an armful of towels. Elizabeth and Caroline both grabbed one and the three women set out to dry Jason as much as possible. He shied away from their ministrations and quickly dried his own face and squeezed some water out from his sweatshirt.

"Do we have any other clothes for him?" Caroline asked her mother as she rubbed a towel furiously over Jason's blonde hair.

"No, that's okay, really," he sputtered from under the cloth.

"I can't send you home like this," she replied, removing the towel from his face. "What will your parents think? Oh, gracious."

"I'm sure I can find another sweatshirt," Steve offered from the doorway. "Give me a minute." He disappeared up the stairs as Elizabeth wrung out the pink towel in her hands.

"It's okay, it's okay," Jason insisted, stepping away from the women. He winked at Elizabeth as he edged toward his Jeep. "It's a good thing I didn't have my leather jacket, huh?"

Elizabeth was still too numb to respond but her eyes flew to his car. "Your interior's leather," she sputtered. "Here." She grabbed two more towels from her grandmother and draped them over his seat.

"Thanks," he smiled before putting his hands on her shoulder and gently pushing her back. "I'll return them as soon as possible."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Jason," Caroline interjected. "They're not important. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Ms. Webber," he replied, putting one foot on the foothold of the Jeep. He smiled at Elizabeth and the adults in the driveway. "Again, it was nice meeting all of you. I'll call you later," he assured Elizabeth, who looked as if she were doing her best to keep her emotions in check.

"Okay," she nodded once. He smiled and hopped in the car, waving as he reversed and drove home.

When his Jeep was no longer in view, Elizabeth pivoted on her heel to face her father. Instead of seeing rage and unchecked fury, Caroline was surprised to see her daughter smiling cheerfully at her father.

"I am never speaking to you again," Elizabeth informed him gaily before flouncing into the house and running up to her room.

No sooner had she left than Caroline turned on him as well.

"Jeff Webber!" she fumed, her hands fisting at her sides. "I can't believe you! What, exactly, is wrong with you? What! You have been acting ridiculous and it's not funny _or_ legitimate anymore! Do you realize that you nearly caused pneumonia with that little stunt of yours? I can't believe I had to send that poor boy home, soaking wet! What were you thinking? Sometimes I think you are crazy!"

She stormed into the house and he had no choice but to follow her in as she fumed and spewed fire.

"And what's more, you are going to apologize to your daughter and that poor boy. And I don't ever want to hear another _word_ about them from you again – you gave up your right to complain the minute you decided Jason had fallen victim to an invisible fire and needed your immediate help."

Jeff gaped after her as she huffed her way into the living room. "What!"

"You heard me."

"Apologize!" he repeated incredulously. "That is unacceptable. Fathers do _not_ apologize to teenage boys. I will _not_, under any circumstances, apologize to anybody, and how do you 'almost catch pneumonia' anyway? That's like saying that someone is 'almost pregnant,' which, by the way, my judicious application of the garden hose prevented and no one seems to want to thank me for that. An apology is out of the question."

It wasn't until his wife began dumping some blankets and a pillow on the living room couch that Jeff began to reconsider his position.

* * *

Saturday morning was bright and warm, and it finally felt like spring in New York.

But for Jeff Webber, the morning dawned not so sunny or bright. And it only worsened when Jason arrived to see if Elizabeth wanted to join him, Sonny, Luke, and Taggert to study for their upcoming APs.

When Jason knocked on the front door, he did so a little more hesitantly than usual, and Jeff had to steel himself for the distasteful task at hand. He reminded himself of all those rice cakes he had eaten when Caroline decided they should all eliminate meat from their diets, and told himself that if he could do that, then surely he could do this.

Jeff pulled the door open and Jason gave a little start, nervously eyeing him as if checking for weapons like garden hoses. It was enough to make Jeff weep: he finally had the boy where he wanted him, and his wife wanted him to negate all his progress by apologizing!

"Hello," he greeted Jason calmly.

"Hello, Mr. Webber," the boy replied.

_There, that should about do it_. Jeff stepped aside to let him in, and as he did, he caught sight of his wife standing in the kitchen, shaking her head sternly. With a sigh, he realized that if he spent another night on the couch, his spine would fuse into one giant pretzel. If his life were to return to any sort of normality, he was going to have to do as the crazy woman he married wanted.

"So…" He shifted his weight from foot to foot. "I guess the other night I sort of sprayed you with the hose," he apologized.

Jason shrugged uncomfortably.

Jeff glanced at his wife, who was still frowning at him. _What more does the woman want? _

Elizabeth came racing down the stairs, her shoes already on and her sweater in her hands. Obviously, she had figured that if she was prepared, she'd have to spend less time in the hall under the watchful, not to mention insane, gaze of her father.

She narrowed her eyes at him in warning and smiled at Jason as she called goodbye. She stepped outside and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him out with her a step or two.

_Okay, Jeff, you can do this. _"I'm…" He choked a little as his throat closed in the involuntary reflex fathers developed to prevent accidental apologies. "I'm sorry I did that."

Jason's smile was small but sincere as Elizabeth pulled him away from the house. "That's okay, Mr. Webber. You should see my dad when my sister Tracy's boyfriend comes over - he still pretends he doesn't remember the guy's name!"


	14. Prama

**Prama **

_This takes place on Tuesday, the fourth of May.. _

Things had been going remarkably well for the gang at PC High after Jeff Webber's freak alliance with the garden hose.

The older man had made a habit of making himself scarce whenever Jason was around – he figured that what he didn't see wouldn't drive him to the brink of insanity. Caroline had apologized profusely to both her daughter and her "sort-of-almost-kinda-I-don't-know" boyfriend, and had expected an irate phone call from Alan and Monica that would start a feud surpassing that of the Hatfields and the McCoys.

But no such phone call ever came. After that disastrous evening, Jason had managed to sneak back into the house undetected. It really helped that both of his parents had returned home exhausted and had fairly collapsed into bed. He had minced quietly up the stairs and barricaded himself into his room, and it didn't take long for him to change into his flannel pajamas and leave the soaking clothes in the tub of his bathroom. They were tossed into the dryer the next morning along with the rest of his wash, and his parents had been none the wiser.

Elizabeth had eventually relented and abandoned her vow of never speaking to her father again as long as she lived, but she had barred the man from ever hassling Jason or any of her other male friends ever again. Jeff was only too happy to do so, provided that Caroline let him back into the bedroom, where he was finally able to deposit his clothes into the dresser after retrieving them from the rose bushes.

And so everything was pretty much forgiven and forgotten as far as that night was concerned. Jason dropped by regularly – sometimes with his friends and sometimes without them – and he and Elizabeth began their diligent last minute studying for the looming AP exams.

If any parents found themselves short of any children, they felt it pretty safe to assume that the kids were gathered at The Studio, a popular hangout for the high school crowd. The cozy basement hub was a lounge, coffee shop, and bookstore all rolled into one, and the students would spend hours huddled over the tables, alternating between the theory of evolution and the area between curves, with a little _Madame Bovary_ thrown in for good measure.

Besides studying for the standardized tests, Jason and Elizabeth managed to spend their limited free time together as well. Sometimes, they'd go out for a burger or coffee in the evenings. Other times, Jason would bring over a DVD and he and Elizabeth would make popcorn in the kitchen before retiring to the den and snuggling on the couch in front of the big screen. Jeff had perfected his gagging noises in an effort to provide the perfect background music for this event, but Caroline always found some extra chores for him to do, usually in the back yard.

Other times, Elizabeth would wind up at Jason's house and the two of them would end up sitting around in his basement, bored out of their minds, before somehow finding themselves in the kitchen baking a batch of Elizabeth's infamous brownies. Alan and Monica were only too happy to see her when they walked in through the front door – Jason never brought his other _partners_ home. And there was a reason for that, they knew; since both Alan and Monica weren't too keen on him seeing older girls, Jason steered his companion of the month clear of their house.

But Elizabeth was another story. The two of them were inseparable, and Jason's parents couldn't have been more pleased. Elizabeth was chipper and respectful and quite cheerful, and was always ready to offer a hand. She'd help Monica put away the groceries while Jason inhaled half of them, she'd listen intently to Alan's amusing anecdotes about his patients, and she'd even play with little AJ. Lila was a favorite of hers, and Jason would often find Elizabeth in his grandmother's room, admiring her artwork. Lila had been a painter before arthritis rendered her tendons useless, and Elizabeth could look at her landscapes and portraits for hours. His grandfather, on the other hand, was a bit more reserved around Elizabeth, but the glimmer in the old man's eyes was as plain as day when he saw how happy and animated his wife was when she spoke with the young girl.

And so things had pretty much returned to normal for the almost-couple.

But not for long.

One warm, late spring night, Jason took Elizabeth to the drive-thru to see some animated French film she'd been talking about for days. He didn't understand much of it – due more to not caring than not comprehending - but Elizabeth enjoyed it tremendously. She had studied French in Colorado before switching over to Spanish in Port Charles, and he was surprised at how much she still remembered. Not that it mattered – the film wasn't terribly hard to follow. He himself found it a little boring – something with fat ladies dancing in a little town called Belleville or whatever.

Jason had parked the Jeep in reverse, with the windshield facing away from the screen, and after realizing that the back window was spotted with mud and rain, the two of them perched themselves atop the roof and let their legs dangle through the moonroof. Jason had produced a blanket from somewhere in the back and looped an arm around Elizabeth when she snuggled into him. They sat like that through the entire movie, and even afterwards.

All the other cars had vacated the parking lot and the lights had been turned off, but the Jeep remained in its spot. The couple had switched positions slightly now, and lay sprawled against the long end of the roof with their legs still dangling inside the car and the blanket spread over them. This time, however, it was the twinkling stars that they were watching.

It had taken much deliberation and hesitation – not to mention procrastination – on Jason's part before he finally propped himself up on one elbow and asked Elizabeth to be his girlfriend.

She had responded favorably in an instant, and their relationship was no longer as ambiguous in nature as it had been. Or at least, it wasn't to them.

After considering all of the good-natured teasing, smirks, and playfully crude jokes that were hurtled at them from all directions by their friends at school, both Jason and Elizabeth had decided to just keep things cool for a while.

It wasn't difficult for them at all, either. Elizabeth had often expressed disgust at the couples that would stand in the hallways and make out, so public displays of affection were out. They still did all the things they normally did – they walked to classes together, went out to lunch together, and hung around after school together. But the only difference was that at this point in time, both of them knew where they stood. It didn't particularly matter that none of their friends save two knew – for Jason and Elizabeth, things had never been better.

Sonny and Brenda would have agreed emphatically with their friends – the two of them had also decided to see each other exclusively. While Sonny was still as smitten with the brunette bombshell as he had been since the beginning of the year, Brenda still needed some more convincing. While she wasn't ready to start naming their kids, the young woman knew that there was something different and special between her and Sonny. But this time, she was ready to really go the distance and take a gamble on how it all panned out.

The two of them, though off to a slower start due to their initial concentration that was geared more to their romantically challenged friends than themselves, had made up for lost time and were just as inseparable as Jason and Elizabeth. And so the two girls – both of whom hadn't ever been this serious about a boy before – figured that their luck had taken a crazy turn for the better.

And as Brenda and Elizabeth strolled through the halls – Elizabeth on her way to AP English and Brenda on her way to Psychology – a new kind of craziness could be felt pervading the hallways.

Prom madness.

It was that time of year again, and although some girls had their dates and dresses picked out months ago for the memorable night, for the majority, it was just starting to sink in.

Senior prom.

The most important night of their high school careers.

Most of the other students were just now getting into the swing of things – asking out potential dates, ripping through catalogs of dresses and accessories, sorting out the details of transportation and entertainment and lodging, and a ton of other things that made launching a space shuttle seem like child's play.

But Brenda and Elizabeth weren't in on this mad flurry of activity – neither of them had been asked yet.

"Do you want to go out to lunch today, just the two of us?" Brenda asked her best friend as they sauntered down the hallway. Carly and a few of their other friends were standing in a small circle in the corner, squealing over sparkly dresses, and the girls waved at each other as they passed by.

"Sure," Elizabeth nodded as she shifted her textbooks from one hand to the other. Her backpack had found a fate identical to that of Jason's – either stuffed in to her locker or sitting on the backseat of the car. She carried her books in her hand and kept all other supplies – pens, pencils, calculator – in her purse.

"Good. Meet me by the doors?" Brenda asked as she neared her classroom.

"OK."

Brenda was at her classroom now, holding the door with one hand and pulling at her ruffled white minskirt with the other. "See you then."

"Later," Elizabeth smiled as she hurried off to her own class down the hallway. Normally, she'd meet Sonny by now as he came up the side stairs, but her friend was nowhere in sight.

"Morning, Beth," smiled Ms. Georgia Hornsby. "How are you?"

"Fine, thanks," Elizabeth answered cheerfully as she slid into her seat next to Jenny. "And you?"

"Good, good," her teacher replied, absently sorting through the _Respectful Prostitute_ essays she'd soon be handing back. Her head snapped up as the bell rang and she quickly scanned the rows of desks in her room. It was a small class – exactly fifteen students – and she could always tell who was missing just by looking around.

"Sonny," she muttered under her breath, making a little _A_ in her lesson plan book for the student she assumed was absent.

"All right, everyone," she said loudly. "Pull out your notes on T.S. Eliot so I can check them, and we'll start our discussion right after the announcements."

The daily announcements were a five-minute nuisance that every third period teacher put up with because they were school policy. They were usually read by the captain of the debate team, a radical, spiky-haired young lady named Alex, and included updates on various PC High news such as the new fitness programs or the newly constructed weight rooms. Student Council also used it to reach the student body with news of the latest charity drives or school spirit events.

After the announcements came the federally mandated Pledge of Allegiance. While Georgia herself had no problem standing up and reciting the pledge, she was inwardly surprised at the number of students that refused to do so as well.

She'd let it go for the first week, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her, leading to a monstrous class discussion. And it was on that day that Georgia had recognized the true caliber of the young men and women she considered herself fortunate enough to teach.

The class had been divided on the issue, to say the least. But what amazed her most were their varying shades of division and the complexity of their rationale. Among opposing arguments were the religious ones offered by the lone atheist in the class, a tall, slim redhead, as well as the ones offered by Brendan Mahoney and his girlfriend Jenny, who felt that a mandatory recital was highly reactionary and therefore hypocritical.

These views had clashed drastically with those of students like Sonny Corinthos, students who were fiercely loyal to their country and felt that the pledge was a small token of allegiance that went a long way.

And it really warmed Georgia's heart to witness the way her students resumed their interaction with each other after the heated debate – no grudges or resentments were carried, and it was clear that the children respected each other's opinions and were capable of handling the altercation even more maturely than most adults she knew.

And now those mature students were busy chattering away about corsages and limos and handbags as Alex reported that the science labs were to be equipped with new computers for the next year.

"Sh, guys," Georgia hushed as she passed out the essays.

Jenny Evrard grabbed hers and then leaned forward to peer at Elizabeth's. Seeing that they both had received an A, she poked her friend in the shoulder and they did their customary victory dance, which involved a lot of random wiggling in hard wooden desks.

The wiggling proved to be a bit much in terms of movement, and Jenny soon felt the need to remove the sweatshirt she usually wore to combat the school's arctic temperatures. She pulled it off and dropped it on the floor, but not before Elizabeth caught the white lettering on the front.

"NYU?" she asked, pointing to the discarded article of clothing. "Is it final?"

May 1st had been the last date for students to accept admissions offers, so by now, everyone in the room knew exactly where they'd be spending the next four years.

Jenny nodded happily. "Yup. I just sent all their crap in last week."

"Good!" Elizabeth beamed. "I'm so happy for you – I know you'll love it there."

"I'm excited," Jenny admitted. "I think it's definitely the right school for me. Plus, they have a great journalism program, so I'll be all set." She paused for a moment before asking, "So, did you pick your school?"

Elizabeth nodded slowly. "Yeah, I finally decided."

But that wasn't good enough for her old friend. "And?" Jenny prodded, knowing how crushed Elizabeth had been when those monkeys from Stanford rejected her application.

A stray lock of hair had found itself in front of Elizabeth's face and the brunette carefully tucked it behind her ear. Her crimson nails tapped against the back of her desk. "Well, I really had my heart set on Stanford, and I didn't have any other school in mind for my second choice."

Jenny nodded sympathetically.

"So I ended up calling my sister down at Johns Hopkins that weekend, and we talked for hours about all of it – the rejection, other schools, my intended major, career plans, everything."

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "Sarah and I went through each and every school that I had applied to and drew out pro-and-con lists. It took hours, let me tell ya. But anyway, when we finished, it looked like Columbia was my best fit from the remainders. That worked out really well, because Sarah's best friend Holly is a junior at Columbia."

Jenny chuckled. "Almost uncanny, man."

Elizabeth grinned. "Tell me about it. We ended up conference calling her, and the three of us spent about two hours talking about everything that goes on there, and how Holly likes it and whatnot. Somewhere in the middle, Sarah got bored and hung up."

Her hair sidled into her face once more and Elizabeth absently tucked it back again. "I really liked what Holly had to say, and she put me in touch with some other students there that work with the Admissions department, and I emailed them back and forth for a few days. And that was it."

Jenny watched her shrug casually, a ghost of a pleased smile curving her glossy lips. "So you were sold," she grinned, propping her cheek in her hand.

"Pretty much," Elizabeth nodded, her blue eyes glittering. "I sent in all their paperwork a day later, and now I'm all set."

"What about your parents?" Jenny's voice was low this time. She didn't want to upset her friend or draw unnecessary attention, but she really wanted to know. Her friend's entire family had gone to John Hopkins – her parents had even met and fallen in love there. How had Elizabeth gotten out of it.

"What about them?"

Jenny sighed. "How'd they take the news of your choosing Columbia?"

Elizabeth bit her lower lip, teasing it with her teeth as she considered how to answer without giving away too much information. "Well, my mom's never really pressured me to choose Johns," she informed her attentive friend. "I mean, I'm sure she'd love it if I did-"

"But she wouldn't put you in that sort of position," her fellow editor finished.

She nodded. "Pretty much. She's strict when it comes to certain things, but she's much more lenient when it comes to others. I think she realized early in the game that even though I'm the youngest, it doesn't give her and my dad the right to map out my entire life. My dad, however, still has to learn that lesson – and he's fighting it tooth and nail every step of the way."

Jenny nodded in complete understanding. "I know what you mean. I'm worried about what my parents will do when Caitlin becomes a senior in four years. They've always been very free with me – I never had any problems from them when I chose my friends or my clothes or my job or my college. But Caitlin's the baby, just like you are, and my parents have always been very protective of her."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "As much as it frustrates me, I really can't blame 'em, you know? I'm sure that when I have my own kids, I'll be the same way. Even though I'm always telling myself I won't ever."

Jenny snickered. "I know. It's so funny, isn't it? No matter how strongly we believe that we won't be like our parents, it's almost a given that we will." She shrugged, combing her green-tipped fingers through her hair in an attempt to pull it into a messy ponytail. "That's just the way the cookie crumbles."

"Look at us," Elizabeth huffed, her eyes dancing. "We sound like them already."

Jenny gaped at her. "Oh, hell no. Beth, promise me one thing – if I ever start saying 'rabble rouser' or 'whippersnapper' or 'ragamuffin', shoot me on the spot and put me out of my misery."

Her friend's smile was quick and easy. "No problem. I'd do that without you even telling me."

Jenny rolled her eyes. "I have no doubt." Hair tamed, she tapped her polished nails on the desk. "So? You never told me about your dad. How'd he take it?"

Mr. Webber was a special favorite of Jenny's among all her friends' parents. She'd dislocated her elbow after falling from a tree when she was six, and Mr. Webber had set it for her and given her a special Scooby-Doo sling and three lollipops. At that young age, he'd been a giant among men in her eyes. He'd always make jokes about it whenever she came over after school, but she didn't mind in the least. Not even when he jokingly started calling her Elvira when she'd been going through her Let's-Dye-My-Hair-Every-Color-Under-The-Sun stage.

Elizabeth inhaled deeply. "Well, let's just say that my dad wasn't nearly as big of a problem as he easily could have been."

Jenny didn't understand. "Come again?"

Her bottom lip was under another attack. "Well…" She trailed off, not knowing how to say that her father freaked out about Jason and so her mother decided to keep him under wraps, without actually saying it. The hose incident wasn't something that needed to be spread around. "I got home late one night, and my dad just freaked out – not so much at me, but in general. Call it a mid-life crisis or a refusal to face the fact that I'm growing up – but he still freaked. And so my mom must have decided he was certifiably insane, because she tightened his leash, so to speak."

"What?"

"Basically, he's not allowed to hassle me about anything. Well, no, that's a little extreme. He's encouraged – strongly encouraged, some would say threatened – to consider his words and actions completely before he says anything. And he's been taken off discipline duty – that's my mom's job now."

Jenny grinned. "Sweet. Party at Beth's house!"

"No, no," Elizabeth frowned at all the eager eyes that were suddenly upon her. "No parties at Beth's house." She narrowed her eyes at Jenny, but the girl just smiled and waved, gesturing for her to continue.

"So before I filled out all the paperwork, I sat down with him and explained very calmly – which, since I tend to be like my dad sometimes, was quite an accomplishment – explained that I didn't want to go to Johns Hopkins or become a doctor, and that I wanted to go to Columbia and maybe do something in international relations."

"International relations?" Jenny parroted. "As in…?"

"Maybe marketing or public relations," Elizabeth explained. "Or, I could branch out into diplomacy and stuff. But I don't know for sure right now – I'm hoping to figure it out when I get there. I didn't even mention music – I figure that's a battle for another day."

Jenny nodded in agreement. "Wise move – work on the bigger stuff now, iron out the nitty-gritty later."

"That's what I figured," Elizabeth agreed. "He didn't take it badly at all – I think my mom's been working on him. I expected him to wheedle and coax and try to persuade me in to going there, but he didn't. He just said that he wanted me to be happy, and he'd always thought that I'd be happy at Johns. That was why he tried so hard to push me in that direction – because he and my mom had been so happy there, and Sarah's doing great, and he thought I'd find something there, too."

"Ah," Jenny sighed. "So that's why he was so gung-ho about it."

"I thought about it, and I don't blame him," Elizabeth shrugged. "He had my best interest at heart, even though his actions were somewhat misguided. But he said that he and my mother would support my decision, and that they hoped I'd be happy there. I told them not to worry."

Jenny smiled. "Good, Beth, I'm really glad. You deserve to go somewhere like that – somewhere challenging, somewhere that suits your personality and nurtures your talents. I think, for what it's worth, that you made the right decision."

"Thanks," Elizabeth smiled. "I think I did, too, and for the first time since I got the letter from Stanford, I'm really excited. I mean, really excited. I can't wait to start this new chapter in my life."

"See, what'd I tell you?" Jenny grinned, stretching idly in her desk. "Things have a way of working out for the best." She settled back more comfortably in the small desk and fiddled with her furry pen. "Where's Brenda going, again?"

"NYU," Elizabeth answered automatically. "Just like Sonny."

"You're kidding!" Jenny exclaimed, her eyes wide. "That's awesome! We'll be together! Yes!" She clapped her hands in glee. "Wow, that totally made my day. I have to find Brenda later today – holy cow, that's freakin' awesome! For some reason, I thought she was going down south."

Elizabeth furrowed her brows. "You may be thinking of Carol. She's headed to Miami."

"Oh," Jenny mumbled, tapping her finger to her chin. "Ok." She sneaked a glance at her friend, pretending to be completely absorbed in trying to map out every one of their friends' destinations. "So where's Jason going?"

Elizabeth just looked at Jenny as amusement kicked up the corner of her mouth. The brunette had a very specific motive for asking that – gleaning information. And as close as she and Jenny were, it wasn't the right time.

"Boston," she replied, fighting to keep her voice flat and not as amused as she was.

"Brendan's going there," Jenny replied, tipping her head toward her boyfriend who still had his nose buried in Sartre's _Dirty Hands_. "He's excited about it. How does Jason feel?"

Elizabeth pursed her lips together, trying to keep her eyes from betraying the fact that she knew exactly what was going on. "He's looking forward to it. His parents have a place in Long Island, so he's been to Boston many, many times over the years and he loves it. He's a city kid, no matter what he tells anyone."

Jenny smiled. "Well, that's good. Good for him. Good for them both." She glanced at her boyfriend who was nibbling on a fingernail as he read the play. "I'm just going to miss him so much. I mean, I'm glad we're not halfway across the country from each other, but still – it seems so far. I'm going to miss him like crazy."

Elizabeth didn't know how to respond to that, so she settled for an uncommitted "Yeah."

Jenny frowned and was about to say something else when Ms. Hornsby cleared her throats. "Okay, people, calm down and listen up."

Alex's voice could be heard much more clearly now as the class quieted down. "And now, I'd like to turn the microphone over to the president of the Student Council, Sonny Corinthos."

Georgia blinked at her student's name before hopping over to her desk and erasing the A next to his name under the day's date.

"Thank you." Sonny's voice crackled a bit before they heard him situate the mic. "Our Student Council was contacted by the New York Food Depository earlier this week. They're a non-profit organization that collects food for the needy. What they want us to do is to run a canned food drive of our own for the homeless in New York."

Georgia was listening closely now as she handed out papers. She stuck a pencil in her honey-colored hair, behind her ear, as her mind wandered to all the unopened cans of Chef Boyardee Ravioli that her husband Dillon kept in the cabinet "for emergencies". They'd all be in a cardboard box and sitting in her classroom tomorrow morning.

"Several other schools in the area are contributing as well," Sonny continued. "And our goal is to match the food that the Depository already has. The class that contributes the most non-perishable food products will receive a pizza party courtesy of the Student Council, and the runners up will be awarded an ice cream party."

"Thank you, Sonny," Alex broke in. "That was-"

"Actually, Alex, I have something more to say."

Elizabeth peered up at the intercom as if it would reveal her friend's face. Sonny rarely spoke on the intercom if he didn't have to, and he certainly didn't interrupt the MC.

"Um, ok…"

"As most of you know – or so I should hope – prom is being held this year on May 29th. Now, being a guy, I don't have it as tough as you girls."

Elizabeth could almost hear the smile in his voice as he spoke, and her classmates were whispering as to what their president could possibly be up to.

"I don't have to spend weeks shopping for the perfect dress," he continued. "I don't have to find the perfect heels. I don't need a purse or new stockings or gloves. And I certainly don't need a garter."

There was quiet laughter in the room and Ms. Hornsby paused by her desk, wondering what the point of this shpiel was.

"But I do like to be prepared. So I went out a while ago and had my black tux dry-cleaned. I finally figured out how to wear a cummerbund, and I somehow managed to find some shoes. But in my rushed preparation, I realized that I forgot a very important component for the evening."

There was a pause for dramatic effect.

"I realized that I didn't have a date."

This time, there was a pause for laughter, and Elizabeth couldn't help but giggle at the mock embarrassment in her friend's voice.

"To that effect, I'd like to take this time to ask Brenda Barrett if she would go to prom with me this year."

Elizabeth grinned when Ms. Hornsby laughed, and her classmates were laughing as well. A bit further down the hall in Brenda's Psychology class, the entire room had erupted into applause.

"Yeah, Brenda," Felicia grinned as Carol Benson whooped in the background.

"Aw, isn't that sweet?" Ms. Purdy drawled, smiling at the blushing brunette.

Brenda was smiling uncontrollably despite turning as red as a tomato. She had been wondering if Sonny would ask her, and even though she knew he would, she kept second-guessing herself. And now that he had – in front of the whole school, no less – Brenda wouldn't dream of turning him down.

* * *

Jenny Evrard walked down the aisle in the cafeteria toward the table she shared with her friends. She looked down warily at the rubbery-looking chicken sandwich in her plate, and found herself cursing her guitar teacher. He'd made the entire class stay after the bell and when they'd finally got out, there was no point to leaving campus for lunch.

Jason and Sonny had been standing in line behind her having a hushed conversation, and although Jenny strained to hear what they were saying – hopefully about prom and maybe Elizabeth – she didn't catch much. All that she understood was that Sonny was telling Jason to do something and Jason was eagerly agreeing. The two of them appeared to be forming some sort of plan, and although Jenny would have loved details, she didn't receive any.

Nearing her table, she saw Carol, Emily, Sydney and Felicia standing by Roni Peterson, one of her and Elizabeth's co-editors.

"Hey, guys," she nodded, announcing her presence. The girls instantly shifted over to allow her into their circle. Behind her, Jenny saw Lexi Cassidine and motioned her over. "What's going on?"

"Did you hear Sonny ask Brenda to prom today?" Felicia asked as she nibbled on a carrot stick.

Jenny nodded. "Mm-hmm. Me and Beth were totally cracking up – it was so cute!"

"Beth, huh?" Carol asked. "Funny – we were just talking about her."

"Oh?" Jenny and Lexi both raised an eyebrow.

Emily nodded as she gulped down her cream soda. "Yeah. OK, tell me what you think – you probably know more than I do – Do you think Jason is going to ask Beth?"

The question was directed to Roni, Jenny, and Sydney, seeing as how they were closest to Elizabeth after having worked on the paper together for two years.

The tall blonde bit her lip. "I don't know," she admitted. "It's hard to say."

"Oh, come on, Roni," Carol burst out. "You've got to know the dirt!"

Roni shrugged helplessly. "I don't know – I never really asked about her and Jason. It just seemed kinda nosy, you know?"

Emily rolled her eyes at her friend. "Amateurs," she teased.

Sydney chuckled. "I wish I knew, but Beth's kept her lips sealed about the whole Jason thing. I can't get a word out of her, and we _always_ talk about this stuff. I mean, she listened to me babble on and on about Charlie before we started dating, but she doesn't say a word about Morgan." She huffed in frustration. "It's driving me batty."

Lexi bit her lip. "I _think_ he'd ask her. Right?" she asked, turning to Jenny.

"I'd hope so," the girl responded. "I mean, he has to, right?"

"Not necessarily," Emily disagreed. "I mean, as much as I think he should, he doesn't have to. They're not really dating, are they?"

"See, that's what I'm confused about," Carol interjected. "I've seen them together in school, flirting it up in the hallways and stuff, but what if it's just that – flirting?"

"You mean, what if Jason's just playing around?" Lexi asked.

Sydney considered it. "I don't think so," she said slowly. "I can't explain it, but I just don't get that feeling."

"I agree," Roni asserted. "Besides, Elizabeth's never really been the flirty type, if you get what I mean. She's totally fun and stuff, but she's pretty serious about stuff like this. I don't think I've _ever_ seen her just flirt around with a guy and lead him on. This thing with Jason is something different."

"But they're not a couple, are they?" Felicia asked, twirling a lock of blonde hair around her finger.

"No," Jenny answered. "We'd have heard if they were, right?"

"Right," Carol agreed.

"You know, I tried to corner her in English today," Jenny burst out, putting her hands on her hips. "He's going to Boston with Brendan, and I kept saying how much I'd miss him and everything, but Beth didn't bite. I couldn't get a word out of her."

Carol huffed in displeasure, leaning a jean-clad hip against the table. "And that's what makes this so messy."

"If they were dating or, better yet, a couple," Felicia continued to muse. "We wouldn't have any problem – he'd _have_ to ask her."

"But we don't know," Jenny muttered softly. "Huh."

Roni glanced at each member of the circle. "So…? What are you thinking?"

Carol licked her lips as she crossed her slender arms over her black _Led Zeppelin_ t-shirt. "We have to get Jason Morgan to ask Beth to prom."

Sydney grinned. "So, what do you have in mind?"


	15. Subtle As A Subpoena

**Subtle As A Subpoena**

_This takes place on Wednesday, May fifth. _

"If April showers bring May flowers, then what do May flowers bring?" Chloe Morgan eagerly asked, swinging her legs under the breakfast table.

AJ sat next to her, drinking his chocolate milk from his Mickey Mouse cup with the red crazy straw. Jason glanced up from his Calculus homework and chuckled; AJ's brow was furrowed as he concentrated on his cousin's question, furiously trying to come up with an answer.

It was Wednesday, and the weather was dismal. It had been raining since the wee hours of the morning and didn't show any signs of letting up. Jason sighed as he slammed his book shut after finishing the last problem. Another rainy drive to school. Just wonderful.

The kids sure thought it was – seated at the breakfast table with the Ovaltine and waffles he'd fixed them as his parents ran out the door into the monsoon, they were completely ecstatic over the fact that they had no school today. It was an institution day for their teachers, so while Ms. B. and Ms. Janik were sitting in seminars, AJ and Chloe were blowing bubbles in their milk and trying to figure out just which board game they'd play first.

"Come on, Jason, guess!" Chloe exclaimed, her two blonde pigtails bobbing as she wiggled in her seat.

"Can you repeat the question?" he asked, getting up from his seat and gulping down his breakfast of orange juice.

"If April showers bring May flowers, then what do May flowers bring?" Having completely given up on his quest to find the answer, AJ now waited for his brother to save them from Chloe's victory.

"No idea," Jason answered immediately as he deposited his glass in the sink and cleared the plates from the table. "_Drink_ your milk, AJ – don't blow bubbles in it." He turned his attention to his ten-year-old cousin. "What do May flowers bring?"

"Pilgrims!" Chloe exclaimed, beaming from underneath the large glasses that lent her blue eyes an owl-like appearance.

"Clever," Jason smirked, making sure to laugh for the little girl's benefit. He glanced at the clock and grabbed his backpack before swooping his keys off the counter. "All right, I have to go to school now. Grandmother's still asleep, so try not to make too much noise, okay? Grandfather's working in his office, so try not to disturb him. He'll be down by ten o'clock anyway, but until then, you're in charge, okay, Chloe?"

Chloe slid a triumphant look at her six-year-old cousin. "Sure, Jason."

"Good. You two have fun and don't get into any trouble. Don't leave the house, don't break anything, and don't fight."

"Fine, fine," AJ sighed as if his older brother had just deposited the weight of the world onto his shoulders.

"Okay. See you guys later."

"Bye, Jason!" Chloe and AJ called out as they watched him stride purposefully down the hall and disappear into the rain, pulling the thick wooden door firmly shut behind him.

* * *

"Thanks, Johnny, I owe you one," Sydney whispered to her friend as the tall Irish boy winked at her and sauntered down the hallway to Elizabeth's locker. The petite brunette was still crouched on the floor, trying to wrestle a notebook from her stubborn and overflowing locker.

"Hey, Beth," Johnny called out as he neared her. She looked up, blinking in surprise.

"Hey, Johnny," she smiled, still maintaining a grip on her notebook. "How's it going?"

"Fine," Johnny replied as he tried to swallow a yawn. They still had ten minutes until the first bell, and already he was having trouble staying awake and alert. The mornings had been especially tough lately – his normal state of hyperactivity had been replaced with fatigue and drowsiness. He personally blamed it on the rain, and the resulting lack of track practice. When they ran regularly, Johnny found that his energy level was up and he was always alert and ready to go. It had been a week since they ran last, due to rain and some debris strewn on the track. Instead, they had worked out in the weight room, but it just wasn't the same.

"You okay?" Elizabeth asked, peering up at him. She wore black pants today, with an off-white full-sleeve shirt and matching cream boots with thick black soles. Her eyes were done up to be darker and offered a smoky contrast against her pale skin, and her dark hair was pinned back and cascading over her shoulders in silky waves. Gazing down at her, Johnny found himself wondering why he had never noticed her exquisite beauty before.

"Yeah," he responded, quickly shaking himself from his brief trance. After all, it just wouldn't do for him to be making googly-eyes at Jason Morgan's girl. If she _was_ that, though. "Just tired."

"I hear you," Elizabeth sighed, sitting back and momentarily taking her attention off the notebook. "I think it's the weather – it's so _blah_."

"Yeah," Johnny agreed. He stood still for a moment, shifting his weight from foot to foot. With an exasperated sigh, he finally knelt down on the cool tiles next to her. "Look, I wanted to talk to you about the Talent Show-"

"Oh, good," Elizabeth burst out, spinning a little on her bottom to face him. "Because I'd been meaning to do the same thing. Did you have anything in mind for our act? You said you wanted us to play our instruments?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah – you on the piano, Luke on the trumpet, and me on the drums."

Elizabeth nodded. "Okay, did you have any piece in mind?"

"Not really," Johnny said slowly, grasping the back of his neck with one hand. "That's kinda what I wanted to talk about."

"Shouldn't Luke be here?"

"Well, he's pretty mellow about this whole thing – everything, actually – so I figured we two could decide and then just run it by him. Chances are, he'll be cool."

Elizabeth nodded and licked her lips as she thought. Johnny found himself following the movement of the soft, pink tip of her tongue. He snapped himself out of _that_ in a hurry.

From her post across the hall, Sydney was watching the twosome while keeping one eye out for Jason. She was instantly rewarded as the tall blonde came loping down the hallway, shaking raindrops from his silky hair.

He reached his locker and pulled it open, and Sydney seized the opportunity.

"Jason, hey," she grinned, strolling over with her books balanced on her pelvic ridge. "What's going on?"

"Hi, Syd," Jason grinned at Elizabeth's friend. "Not much – how 'bout you? How're you doing?"

"Okay," she replied with a bright grin. She watched him pull his Physics book from his locker and deposit his Calculus book in its place, and took the moment to casually lean against the lockers next to him. "Can I ask you a favor, though?"

Jason looked at her, blinking. "Sure," he replied slowly. "But it depends on what it is."

"Oh, it's nothing big," Sydney assured him, waving a hand casually. Her warm brown eyes sparkled as she recited her lines. "Actually, it's about Charlie."

"Charlie?" Jason repeated, blinking at the mention of her boyfriend and one of his track teammates. "What about him?"

"Well," Sydney began slowly, as if she were tasting each word before speaking. "You know how prom's on the twenty-ninth?"

Jason fought to keep his smirk suppressed. "Yeah…?"

His friend sighed deeply. "I think Charlie's planning to wear a mint green tux."

Jason just stared at her for a minute before chuckling in disbelief. "How do you girls know these things? Because since this is Charlie we're talking about, I'm willing to bet this was supposed to be a surprise." He closed his locker and let his textbook dangle from his hands, swinging against his thigh. "So how'd you find out? Is there some secret girls' network where you guys release all your gossip or something?"

Sydney laughed, crossing her legs at the ankle. "I'm not saying any-"

"Why?" Jason grinned. "Am I getting too close to the truth? Is the operation in danger?"

"Oh, you," Sydney giggled, rolling her eyes at her friend. "Seriously, though – a green tux! Come on, Jason!"

"Okay, okay, I'll admit, it does seem a bit drastic," Jason confessed, chuckling as he leaned against his locker.

"A _little_ drastic?" Sydney exclaimed, her eyes as wide as saucers at Jason's understatement. "Are you kidding me? How about a complete tragedy? My dress is red, Jason – red!"

"Okay…So?"

"_So? _Are you joking? Red and mint green – those colors don't just clash together, they wage all-out war!"

Jason just stared at her. "If you say so," he shrugged. "But where do I fit in with all this?"

"I'm glad you asked," Sydney beamed as she swung her hips in a dainty manner. "I want you to just hint around in casual conversation that I don't want him to wear any color but navy or black. That's all."

Jason regarded her silently for a moment, trying to decide if she was serious or not. "And how, exactly, am I supposed to do this? Guys don't usually sit around and talk about tux colors, Syd."

"Oh, Jason, you have to," she whined, grasping his bicep. "This is _prom_ we're talking about – the most memorable night of senior year, of our entire high school career! Everything has to be perfect." She paused, studying his face for the slightest indication of what she was looking for.

Jason didn't bite, so she continued. "After all, don't you want _your_ prom night to be perfect for you and _your_ date?"

In an ideal world, Jason would have replied that, yes, he did want things to be perfect for him and Elizabeth. But ideal worlds simply didn't exist during senior year.

"Fine, I'll talk to him," he relented, rolling his eyes and getting ready to move on to class. "I'm not making any promises, though, and if he asks me what the hell I'm talking about, I'm telling him that you know about the green tux."

"Deal," Sydney responded brightly, covering her disappointment at her inability to wheedle any information out of him. The hint had been dropped, and it had made a sizable dent on the tiled floor.

"Deal," Jason repeated. "See ya." He sauntered off down the hallway toward the stairwell by Elizabeth's locker.

Sydney smirked at his retreating form. Now all she had to do was find Charlie and tell him to temporarily pretend that he wanted to wear a green tux.

* * *

"Do you think jazz would be cool?" Johnny asked, furrowing his brows. "Everybody likes jazz. It's impossible not to."

"Especially if it's something really catchy," Elizabeth agreed. "Or on a different note, something classical."

"I don't know," the boy replied slowly. "Not many people know much about classic jazz."

"What about a jazzy twist on a piece of classical music?" Elizabeth asked, her eyes lighting up.

Johnny's green eyes glittered. "Beethoven's fifth?"

Elizabeth grinned back. "Only been playing it since I was six."

He cocked his head to the side. "Do you play jazz piano?"

The brunette nodded, smoothing a small hand down her shiny chocolate hair. "Yeah – are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Jason rounded the corner at that moment, giving him a direct view of Elizabeth's locker. She was seated on the floor talking to Johnny and he was about to call out to the two of them, but was interrupted when someone called out to him.

"Jason!"

Spinning around, he caught sight of his friend Carol Benson as she somehow managed to run over to him atop her four-inch red heels.

"Just the man I've been meaning to talk to," the tall blonde grinned. She was all charm, and Jason was very suspicious. "I love your shirt – blue's a good color for you."

He rolled his eyes. "What do you want, Carol?"

She pretended to pout, but her eyes sparkled with mirth nonetheless. "What – every time I compliment my old friend, I have to be trying to get something in return?"

"It's the charm of our relationship," Jason shrugged as the bell for class sounded overhead.

"OK, fine, whatever," Carol relented, bobbing up and down. "I don't care." She snaked an arm through his and pulled him toward the stairwell, making a great show of waving to Elizabeth and smiling back when the brunette grinned hello to the two of them.

Jason cast his girlfriend a sidelong glance as she resumed her conversation with Johnny. His teammate pulled her to her feet and then tugged an obstinate notebook from Elizabeth's locker before kicking it shut. He waited as she slipped her lock in and twisted the combo, and then the two of them walked off down the hall together.

"So, listen, Jase," Carol continued, both of her hands wrapped around his arm. "I have a problem."

"Why am I not surprised?" Jason asked as they descended the stairs. The loud _smack smack _of Carol's heels on the steps was already starting to give him a headache. "OK, what do you need?"

"Oh, don't be like that," Carol huffed, shoving him lightly on the shoulder. "When was the last time I ever asked you for anything?"

"Just yesterday."

The blonde paused for a minute before waving a red-tipped hand through the air. "Oh, who cares? Whatever it was, it doesn't count. This time, I _really_ have a problem."

Jason sighed, which Carol automatically interpreted as a sign that he wanted her to explain. It took her two seconds to run over her story in her mind, and she was ready to go.

"Ok, do any of your friends still not have dates for prom?"

Jason groaned inwardly.

"I'm serious, Jason," Carol insisted, shoving him again. They walked past the library, her arm still through his, and Carol took the time to discreetly wink at Emily as they passed her, letting her know that everything was proceeding according to plan. "I don't have a date."

"_You? _" Jason repeated incredulously. "How can _you_ not have a date? I thought you made these plans years in advance."

"Very funny, Jason. Normally, I would. But I must have been sleeping at the time because, as unbelievable as it may sound, I _don't_ have a date. And I'm _not_ going to prom without a date!"

"I'd imagine not," Jason replied flatly. "In fact, I can picture you running into a church on prom night and dragging away the first man in a tux that you see – even if he was the groom."

"Oh, Jason, be serious," his friend beseeched.

"Who says I'm not?" Jason demanded as they rounded the corner into the science wing.

"_Jason! _"

"Fine, fine," he burst out, scowling at the floor. "I'll see what I can do."

Carol squealed, and tightened her grip on his arm in excitement. "Oh, thank you, Jason – I knew you'd come through for me."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, rolling his shoulders in an attempt to extricate himself from her embrace and nearly plowing over some freshmen in the process.

"Ok, just remember that I like brunettes," Carol informed him. "And I don't want the guy to be shorter than me in heels, because then I have to wear flats, and I don't want to wear flats, Jason."

"Uh-huh. Do tell."

"Redheads are okay, but remember, I like brunettes."

"Gotcha."

"And I don't want anyone with a hyena laugh. That annoys the crap out of me."

"Speaking of annoying-"

"And he doesn't have to go to our school, you know. In fact, feel encouraged to find a guy that doesn't go here."

The minute bell rang and Carol let go of his arm. "Thanks, Jase, see you later."

With that, she was off to her first hour class, a knowing smile on her face the whole way.

* * *

Jason slid into his seat in the third row and opened his Physics notebook so Mr. Baier could check the homework. Not surprisingly, the old man was nowhere to be seen. If the weather wasn't reminiscent of India during the wet season, the entire class would have been outside already and playing in the meadow directly behind the room until Baier came out and demanded that they all come in. It had become a daily routine of theirs, but the rain seemed to disrupt everything.

"Jason, did you get number three?"

Turning to his left, Jason met the gaze of Veronica Peterson. "Number three?"

Roni nodded. "Yeah – it's the only one where you need a calculator, and mine kept giving me something that I _knew_ couldn't be right."

Jason glanced at his work, not feeling right about giving her the answer right away. Not to say that Roni liked to cheat off of others or anything – it was just his own personal habit. "How'd you set it up?"

"Like this," she pointed at her notebook, scooting her desk closer to his. "See?"

"Your equation's right," Jason informed her. "I got the same thing."

"Then why am I getting a negative answer?" she demanded, glowering at her graphing calculator.

"Negative?" Jason repeated, taking a look at his own final answer and then at her work. "Are you sure you typed it in right?"

"Mm-hmm," Roni nodded. Her blonde hair fell forward and onto her desk as she bent over the problem, and the girl instantly pulled it back and swept it around her neck and over her other shoulder. "With parentheses and everything."

"Are you sure your calculator's in radians?" Jason asked on a hunch.

Roni looked up at him. "You know, I don't know. That might be it." She punched two keys and nodded. "Yeah – I had it in polar mode. Okay, let's do this." She retyped the equation and waited expectantly as the instrument calculated. "9.475?"

"That's what I got," Jason confirmed, tapping his pen over his notebook.

"Thanks, Jason," Roni beamed. "I can't believe I was so stupid."

"No problem," he shrugged with a smile. "I do it all the time."

Mr. Baier chose that moment to walk into the classroom, hugging the wall as he always did. Reportedly, he had poor peripheral vision, not to mention depth perception, and usually walked very close to the walls. His head was bent downward at its usual angle and he was mumbling to himself.

"Folks, let's get attendance taken care of and then we'll move on to the good stuff," he informed the class as he hunched over his slim laptop and began clicking away.

Jason settled back in his seat and Roni watched him carefully, licking her lips. _Come on, Roni, don't chicken out. You owe it to Elizabeth – Jason has to ask her to prom. And you have to hint around until he gets the message. _

"Jason?"

He turned to face her, blinking at her voice. "Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

Her voice was hesitant and soft, which naturally made Jason suspicious. His voice was slow and wary when he replied. "What?"

Roni licked her lips again and tried to sound unsure and even a slight bit embarrassed. "You're friends with Steve Vurton, aren't you?"

The mention of one of his track teammates didn't alleviate Jason's suspicion. "Yeah…?"

"Well, I was kind of wondering…" Roni trailed off, biting her lip. She paused a moment for dramatic effect before bursting out with the question she'd repeated to herself before he'd walked into the room.

"Do you know if he's going to ask me to prom?"

"What?" Jason gaped at her, all his suspicions confirmed. Elizabeth's friends were _indeed_ slowly but surely ganging up on him in an attempt to get him to ask her to prom. If the whole thing weren't so damn annoying, he'd laugh at the transparency of their behavior.

"Oh, never mind," Roni flushed, turning away from him and gazing down at her notebook while holding her pen in a vice-like grip. "I knew I shouldn't have asked – I don't mean to put you in a rough spot, Jason, and I don't blame you if you wouldn't tell me anyway. But I asked Elizabeth since she's friends with him, too, and she had no clue, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask you and…never mind."

Jason exhaled deeply, trying to gather his wits enough to properly respond. If this was what he was in for throughout the duration of the day, he might as well have some fun with it and not let it get to him. After all, he had long planned to ask Elizabeth to prom, but he wanted to do it on his own terms and wasn't sure that he appreciated the ambush by their well-meaning friends.

"Hey, it's okay. You really want to go with him?"

Roni peeked out hesitantly at him from behind her curtain of dirty blonde hair. "Yeah."

"If he'd ask, you'd say yes?"

"In a heartbeat."

Jason leaned back further in his desk, lacing his fingers together behind his head. "I wouldn't worry. Guys like Steve – they're totally into this sort of thing. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before he asks you."

"This sort of thing?" It was Roni's turn to be suspicious. "What do you mean?"

Jason just shrugged and made a conscious effort not to let his voice belie his amusement. "Well, you know, some guys – guys like Steve – are into the whole prom thing. Other guys just aren't."

"Really." It was a statement, not a question, and Jason fought to keep from grinning at the wariness and foreboding in the girl's voice. "And you, Jason – where do you lie?"

He shrugged again, intent on seeming as casual as possible as Mr. Baier closed his Apple notebook and began drawing on the board. "Well, I don't really care much about prom. It seems kinda stupid to me."

He managed to discreetly catch the look of pure horror that passed over Roni's face, and leaned forward in his seat to copy down the diagram, more in an attempt to hide his face than because he actually needed to copy it down.

"You're kidding, right?" she asked when she finally found her voice. This was most definitely _not_ in the plan. "I mean, you've got to be kidding."

"Why would I be kidding?" Jason asked. "The whole thing just seems stupid – you girls go out and buy a hugely expensive dress that you only wear once, and you spend all day getting ready only to go someplace hot and crowded where you get really sweaty in ten minutes, and all just to dance? Doesn't that sound stupid to you?"

"N-no, it doesn't sound stupid," Roni sputtered indignantly. "I can't believe you're saying this."

Mr. Baier turned around to face the class. "Folks, today we're going to learn about frames of reference. Now, from our frame of reference, we are sitting in this classroom, completely still, as the Earth spins in rotation underneath us. But that's from our frame of reference." He pointed to the small globe on the desk. "From the earth's frame of reference, we are all moving in parallel orbits on its surface. They're two completely different ideas, two completely different frames of reference, and you have to acknowledge both of them if you are going to have any knowledge of the idea as a whole. Basically, this is the same idea as what your parents have told you over the years – or so I should hope – always look at a problem, a concept, an idea, from all sides."

Jason glanced across the row at Roni for the first time, meeting her gaze without looking away. "It all seems silly to me," he whispered, as Mr. Baier made a diagram of a car on the dry-erase board. "I'd rather do anything than go to prom. And that includes getting a root canal."

Roni's jaw dropped to the floor, and the blonde had no choice but to slump back in her seat and stare blankly toward the head of the room as Mr. Baier explained the day's lesson.

"Look at this – back in my day, the cars had bench seats. Leather ones, usually. That meant that the seat was just one seat, and the gears were on the floor or by the wheel. So, if you have two passengers in the front, and you make a right turn…" He drew two arrows on the board. "Then the person on the right slides over to the left. Correct?"

"Correct," several students mumbled.

Mr. Baier put down the marker and picked up the packet he distributed for every chapter. "Now, back in my day, we also tried this out. We'd go out at night with a pretty young lady if we were men, and the ladies would go out with pretty young men, and we'd all make sharp right turns to check out this theory." He grinned cheekily at the class. "But I'll tell you one thing – we weren't thinking about Physics when we were doing it."

While the rest of the class laughed at Mr. Baier's typical sexual jokes, Jason was chuckling at the suddenly distraught blonde next to him.

* * *

"You're kidding," Jenny gasped at Roni. "He actually _said_ that?"

The blonde nodded sadly. "He said he'd rather get a root canal done than go to prom."

"Oh, #$," Emily cursed under her breath. "Well, _now_ what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know," Felicia sighed sadly. "If Carol was here, she'd know."

"I haven't spoken to her since second hour," Jenny spoke up. "She said that her part went off without a hitch, and that Jason seemed to pick up the hint."

"Syd was happy, too," Felicia nodded. "She said some stuff about wanting prom to be perfect and stuff. From what I got, she was pretty obvious."

"Well, that doesn't help us now," Roni sighed. "Because Jason doesn't even want to go."

"Maybe not," Jenny mused, a twinkle in her hazel eyes. "But maybe he'd go if he thought Beth really wanted to."

"What are you saying?" Felicia asked, sidling closer.

"Hola, chicas," Brenda called out, smiling at the small circle as she strolled over. Her black boots clicked against the tiles as she walked, and she wore a simple black skirt with a matching sweater top. "What's going on? What're we talking about?"

"Nothing," Jenny answered instantly. "Just, um…this god-awful weather."

"Yeah, it's terrible, isn't it?" Brenda asked, placing her free hand on her hip. "I mean, it's May – you think Mother Nature would have received the memo that it's supposed to be late spring in New York."

"Yeah," Felicia responded abruptly, shifting uncomfortably on her feet.

Roni cleared her throat nervously, and Brenda narrowed her eyes. None of the girls were looking her in the eyes, almost as if they were up to something.

"Okay," she sighed, combing her dainty fingers through her open hair. "Does someone want to tell me what's going on?"

Roni exchanged glances with the other girls before turning to the brunette in front of her. "Brenda…do you know if Jason's going to ask Beth to prom?"

Brenda blinked quickly but recovered nicely. Elizabeth and Jason had been adamant about keeping their new relationship under wraps for the time being, and if they didn't want it to get out, then she'd honor that. "Uh, I don't know."

"Well, that's what we're working on," Jenny broke in, twisting a lock of her light brown hair around her finger. "We're trying to drop enough hints for Jason to ask her."

Brenda's shoulders slumped at the confession. "You're kidding me."

"No," Felicia shook her head. "Sydney, Carly, and Roni have already talked to him indirectly today."

Brenda rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to smack her hand to her forehead. "Guys, seriously, take my advice and leave it alone. Whatever will happen will happen. Just leave it alone."

Jenny furrowed her brows at the shorter brunette. "What? Why? Why not help if we can?"

"You may think you're helping, but you might not be," Brenda cautioned. "Just leave it alone. If he wants to go with her, he'll ask her. I doubt he needs help from the peanut gallery." She glanced at her watch and made ready to leave. "I have to go, but remember – leave it alone. Don't do anything."

With that, she walked away from the small circle. The four girls watched her leave, each in her own thoughts.

Felicia was the first to break the silence. "So?"

"So what?" Jenny huffed. "I say we still try."

"I was thinking the same thing," Roni agreed. "I honestly don't see how we could make it worse – we're just speeding along the process, right?"

"Right," Emily nodded before turning to Jenny. "Now, what were you about to say before Brenda walked up?"

Jenny glanced around to make sure no one was close enough to hear. "Well, maybe Jason would go if he thought that Beth really wanted to go."

"But Beth wouldn't come out and say that," Roni argued. "Trust me, I know her. And if this isn't anything serious, then she'd be even less likely to do that."

"And so that's where we come in," Jenny explained, gesturing to the four of them. "We have to make him think she does."

"Count me out," Roni interjected. "I've already talked to him today, and he told _me_ that he doesn't want to go. If he hears me talking about that, then it'll be way too obvious."

"You're right," Emily agreed. "So it's the three of us?"

Felicia and Jenny nodded.

"Okay – when?"

Jenny thought for a moment. "Lunch. We'll stand by my locker and start talking as he walks by."

"What if he's with Elizabeth?" Felicia inquired. "They usually walk down together."

"Leave it to me," Roni broke in. "I'll drag her down to the paper office beforehand or something."

"Okay, then it's settled," Jenny said as the minute bell for sixth-seventh rang. "After this class, we all meet by my locker."

"Got it," the friends answered in unison before scattering.

* * *

"All right, deviants," Mr. Alcazar thundered as his students wandered around the room. "The AP exam's in about two weeks, and we're going to do nothing but review until then. Does anyone have any specific topics in mind, or do you want me to just start from the beginning and breeze through?"

"Beginning sounds good," Sonny spoke up, flipping to a blank page in his notebook. Next to him Jason was doing the same.

"Okay." Their teacher turned to the board before glancing over his shoulder at them again. "Is anyone absent, by the way?"

"Elizabeth," came a voice from the back of the room.

"No, she's here," Jason assured them. "She's just late or something."

At that moment, the door opened and Elizabeth and Luke walked in together. Luke was grinning and Elizabeth was laughing.

"Beth, Luke," Mr. Alcazar smiled stiffly. "Good of you to join us. Do you require a personal invitation to take your seats?"

"Woah – we get personal invitations?" Luke asked as Elizabeth deposited her stuff by her desk.

The brunette shook her head at the boy. "We're going to go get a drink, Mr. Alcazar," she informed her teacher before walking back toward the door.

Luke followed her out, his hand on the small of her back, and glared at Taggert. "Back in five, Czar," he called out as they left the classroom.

Marcus knew exactly what the discreet glance meant, and as soon as Mr. Alcazar's back was turned he sidled over to Jason. "Yo, Jase."

Jason glanced at him. "What?"

"Listen, I'm not trying to get all up in your business or anything," his friend assured him. "But I was just wondering – what's the deal with you and Beth?"

Jason slammed his pencil down on his notebook and glared at the boy. Not again. "Who wants to know?" he demanded icily.

"Hey, hey, don't get so defensive," Taggert replied, putting his hands up in the air. "My girlfriend just wanted me to ask. She's putting together the list for our group, and she wanted Elizabeth to go with us. So she asked me to ask you what was up with the two of you, and if you were going to ask her to-"

"Mr. Taggert." Their teacher's voice boomed across the room. "Are you aware of the fact that the AP exam is coming up in less than two weeks?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm sure you're aware that you, along with every other student in this class, need this valuable time to review."

Marcus nodded and leaned forward in his desk, copying down the problem on the board. Luke and Elizabeth walked back into the room and straight for their desks. Jason secretly watched Luke glance questioningly at Taggert, and had to hide his smirk when the other boy just shrugged in response.

So, apparently, the ambush of May fifth crossed gender lines.

* * *

The bell rang for lunch and the hallways flooded with students. By now, word was already out that Jason Morgan didn't want to go to prom. But then again, that wouldn't stop his and Elizabeth's closest friends.

Carol had been furious over the new development, and it took all of them to keep her from marching over to Jason and throwing a fit until he agreed to take Beth. Jenny had informed her of the new plan, and that was all Carol needed to revive her hope in the matter. She and Roni had ushered Elizabeth away as soon as the bell rang, and now Jenny, Emily, and Felicia stood in front of Jenny's locker, a few paces away from Jason's.

They waited until he had his locker open and was pulling out his lunch, and then started their well-rehearsed routine.

"Em, are those from Ace?" Jenny asked eagerly, pointing to the painted blue roses in the shorter brunette's hand.

She nodded happily. "Yup – aren't they just gorgeous?"

"When'd he ask you?" Felicia inquired, and Jason buried his face in his locker to hide his smirk at the unnecessary volume of her voice.

"This morning, before school," Emily responded. "It was so sweet – you should have seen it."

"Do you have a dress yet?" Jenny asked, leaning against her locker and hoping Jason could hear her over the laughter on the other side of the hall.

"Nope," Emily replied. "Do you?"

"No," Jenny answered. "You want to go shopping sometime? Felicia?"

"Sure," they both replied in unison.

"We have to take Beth with us, though," Emily instructed them. "She always has the best taste when it comes to formal gowns. And I don't think she has her dress yet, either."

"Oh, that reminds me," Jenny burst out, slapping her hand to her forehead in mock remembrance. "We have to make sure we add Beth to our group for the limo and the dinner reservations."

"Yeah," Felicia nodded eagerly. "Oh, it's going to be so much fun with her in our group!"

"I know!" Emily exclaimed excitedly. "We've all only been talking about this since junior year – now we finally get to go together."

"This is going to be amazing," Jenny agreed. "All of us going to prom together. Too amazing for words."

Jason grinned at the row of textbooks in front of him as he listened to them babble on. As much as he loved all of his and Elizabeth's friends, subtlety was not their strong suit.

The volume of their voices rose as he strolled by them on his way to lunch, whistling and seemingly unmindful of their chatter.

"Jason, hey," Jenny smiled in a last-ditch effort to catch his attention.

"Jenny," Jason smiled, pretending to be caught off guard. "Hey, guys, I didn't even notice you standing there." He grinned at the three frowning girls and waved as he continued to walk. "Later."

* * *

Jason sat at his old lunch table with Charlie, Ryan, and a couple of the other track team boys. Sonny had gone straight to the library and Elizabeth was nowhere in sight, so he assumed she had some crisis or another in progress down in the paper office.

"And then I said, if you wanted entertainment, you should have stayed home and watched Conan," Charlie grinned, relating one of his latest stories to a laughing Ryan. "Because she hates Conan. I got her good."

From her perch three tables away, Lexi Cassidine watched the three friends laugh at Charlie's joke. She clenched her pen tightly in her fist, slowly counting down from ten. _OK, Lex, just march over there and do it. He can't say no – he's been hinting around for weeks, but he's just too afraid to ask you. So do it. It's a win-win; you get a date, and Jason gets an anvil on the head. You can't lose_.

The slim brunette got up from her seat and adjusted her glasses before marching straight over to the table where the track boys sat. Charlie was the first to see her and smiled. Jason looked up and nodded, and Lexi looked away at the instant suspicion in his eyes. Ryan was the last to notice, and she could see the confusion reflected in his eyes when he did.

"Hey, Lex," Charlie smiled. "How's life treatin' ya?"

"Lexi," Jason tipped his head.

"Hi, Lex," Ryan smiled, nervously twiddling his pencil between his fingers.

She stopped right in front of him, refusing to look at anyone but him. If she looked at Charlie, she'd either lose her nerve or burst out laughing, neither of which was good. If she looked at Jason, she would most definitely lose her nerve. And besides that, he'd immediately understand what her ulterior motives were. And that couldn't happen.

So instead, she looked straight into Ryan's eyes, clasping her hands in front of her.

"Ryan?"

He glanced nervously from side to side. "Yes?"

Jason stopped in mid-chew, his blue eyes darting from his friend to Lexi.

"I was wondering if you would be my date for prom," the girl said smoothly, keeping her voice level and her eyes calm.

Ryan swallowed. Jason did not.

"Sure," he smiled softly. "Yeah, I'd love to." He quirked a brow at her when she smiled back. "But correct me if I'm wrong – aren't _I_ supposed to ask _you_?"

The slim brunette smirked before answering, and when she did, she made sure to glance at Jason for a quick moment. "Sometimes a girl gets tired of waiting."

That said, she turned on her heel and strolled back to her table where her friends were eagerly awaiting her report.

Jason shook his head in disbelief and swallowed the bite of his hamburger. It didn't taste very good anymore.

* * *

"You know, I say that I just walk right up to him and tell him to take her to prom," Lauren insisted, trying to convince the rest of the girls. "Seriously – what would he do? He'd have to agree."

Sydney rolled her eyes. "Petey, you can't."

"Why not?" Lauren demanded. "Tell me."

"Oh, gee, that's every girl's dream," Carol drawled, leaning back against Sydney's locker. "Nothing like having someone threaten your date into taking you to prom."

Felicia and Emily nodded in agreement, and Lauren fell to thinking.

"Well, I guess you're right," she admitted. "But what are we going to do?"

It was the end of the school day, and Jason still hadn't paid any attention to their hints. The flock of girls was now standing at Sydney's locker and had the perfect view of Jason at his locker.

Jenny sighed. "I don't know anymore."

"You're not giving up, are you?" Roni demanded.

The brunette shrugged. "Look, we tried everything. What more is there for us to do?"

"She's right," Dara Johnson agreed. The slender African-American girl was Marcus Taggert's girlfriend of almost a year, and she, too, had found herself dragged into the latest drama. "I even tried to get Marcus to pry into it, and you know how guys are – they're not nearly as subtle as us."

Jenny sighed, watching as her own boyfriend made his way to the locker next to Jason's. "Yeah."

"It didn't do any good."

Out of earshot from the herd of young ladies, Brendan Mahoney twisted the combo on his locker without even looking at Jason or engaging in any of the customary horseplay.

"Hey, Brend-o," Jason grinned, dumping his English journal into his backpack. "How's it going?"

"Wuss," Brendan hissed, shutting his own locker and slamming the lock in place.

Jason blinked, not knowing what to make of the outburst from his usually reserved friend. "Um, excuse me?"

"You heard me," Brendan replied, zipping up his jacket and walking away. Elizabeth was a special friend of his – he spent one whole week every month cooped up in a tiny office with her, and had gotten to know her very well over the last two years. And the thought that Jason Morgan was just stringing her along was too much for him. No girl deserved that, and especially not a girl as nice as Elizabeth.

Jenny reached out and grabbed his hand as he neared Sydney's locker. He smiled at all of her friends, tipping his head in greeting.

"Girls."

"Brendan," they all smiled. But their smiles vanished as soon as they appeared – none of the girls seemed very happy.

Marcus and Luke joined the group after a few minutes, and the increasingly larger flock huddled together in hushed conversation.

Jason remained at his locker, and Jenny looked past Brendan's shoulder when she heard the _click click click _of a very familiar pair of boots.

"Brenda," she smiled in greeting.

The brunette eyed the suddenly silent group warily, pursing her lips in. "You couldn't leave it alone, could you?" she demanded, on hand on her hip.

The group shuffled in embarrassed silence and looked up, surprised, when Brenda chuckled. She was shaking her head, but her smile seemed genuine. "And I guess that's what makes you all such good friends." She chuckled once more and shifted her books to her other hand. "See you guys tomorrow," she called out over her shoulder as she disappeared down the stairs.

Luke smirked. "I always knew I liked that girl. She reminds me of me."

"Oh, god," came another voice, this time in a groan. "I should hope not." Sonny Corinthos walked past them, smirking as he moved to catch up to his girlfriend. "For my sake at least."

"Aw, you know you like it, Corinthos," Luke taunted his friend's back. Sonny just laughed as he vanished from view.

"So, we're out of ideas?" Carol asked no one in particular.

Sydney nodded slowly. "Looks that way."

Lexi sighed. "That's too bad. It would have been so cool if Jason and Beth went together."

"Yeah," Jenny agreed. "They make such a cute couple."

"I think so, too," Marcus offered. "That's why I tease them, I guess – they just suit each other and it's almost funny."

Felicia sighed. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter, since they're not even a couple."

They heard Jason close his locker door and lock it, and all of them looked up as he walked down the hallway toward the stairwell near their post.

Lauren was the first to glare threateningly at him, but Jason didn't even pay attention, smiling at her as if she had been smiling at him. The rest of the group followed suit, affecting their best displeased expressions, all of which bounced right off of him.

"You know, Morgan," Taggert mumbled as the boy walked by. "You really _are_ an idiot."

Jason turned to face them all but didn't stop walking. His eyes glittered and the corner of his mouth hooked upwards. "And you guys really _are_ gullible."


	16. Plan of Attack

**Plan Of Attack**

_This takes place on Friday, May seventh, two days after the entire gang ambushed Jason. _

"Kyle, pass the red paint, would you?"

"Here. Is there any more blue left?"

"There's a whole thing of it by Sonny's foot. Damn, this stuff is frickin' _cold_."

"Couldn't we have just painted this on our shirts instead of our skin?"

Jason glared at Johnny as he dipped his finger in red paint. "No, Whiny, we can't. So stop whining already."

Sonny smirked and turned to face Max. "Does this _M_ look all right? It looks a little lop-sided to me."

Max took a brief moment to study the still-wet letter painted across Sonny's bare chest. "No," he answered, resuming his own painting job. "It's fine."

"_Lop-sided? _" Johnny taunted as he worked on his own _O_ smack dab in the middle of his chest. "Way to be a perfectionist, Michaelangelo."

"Shut up, Obie," Sonny tossed back as he wiped his red finger in the grass. "Jesus, you were right – it _is_ cold."

"Just wait until it dries, will you?" Jason growled impatiently. He dipped the tip of his finger in white paint to make the dot at the base of his question mark.

"I'm done," Max announced, springing up from his spot on the track. The three o'clock sun cast his crisp shadow on the ground as he hopped from foot to foot, stretching. "Personally, I'm surprised Coach let you do this."

Jason grinned up at him, squinting against the sunlight. It was a warm Friday afternoon, a far cry from the weather over the last week, and the team was finally back on the track after spending weeks in the workout room. It felt great to actually be running again, and even though his calves were still giving him a little trouble, he was loving every minute of it.

"I'm surprised, too," Kyle's little brother agreed. His brown curls, as unruly as his older sibling's, were sandy in the sunlight. "He usually doesn't go for stuff like this."

"Well, it helps that he had a meeting after school and won't be out for another ten minutes," Jason replied, standing up as well. Fourteen of his teammates were still sprawled before him, passing around small cans of red, white, and blue paint. They had all agreed to help him ask Elizabeth to prom, and the plan was coming together nicely. Brenda just had to hold her inside for another five minutes, and they'd be golden.

"There, I think that about does it," Sonny announced, glancing at the boys. Most of them were done, and the wet paint on their chest was glistening as the sunshine and warmth in the air slowly dried it.

"Good," Jason nodded. "Let's line up, then, and see how we look."

He stood back and motioned different boys forward – first the _E_, then the _L_, and everyone slowly fell into place. When they had all lined up in single file, Jason surveyed them like a drill sergeant.

"Good, good," he muttered, pacing down the row. Together, the boys spelled _Elizabeth – Prom_, with Jason himself being the ever-popular question mark. "Yeah, we're good."

Sonny called out from his place at the end of the line as _M_. "Where do we start from?"

Jason glanced back at the school and then at the gates to the track. "Well, they'll be coming from the parking lot, so I figure we should line up at the far curve, starting at the straightway."

His best friend nodded. "All right, let's go."

Max led the line to where Jason had motioned, and the boys checked their order one last time. "Are we good to go?" the sophomore asked, looking to Jason for instruction.

Jason nodded once. "Yeah. Now all we have to do is wait for them to come to the gate."

* * *

"Hurry up, Beth," Brenda growled, stomping on the floor with her bright red tennis shoes. "Let's _go_."

"Hold up, hold up," Elizabeth called out, waving a hand at her. The brunette was currently engrossed in deep conversation with Luke Spencer, and didn't show any signs of moving.

With an exaggerated sigh, Brenda flounced over to the twosome. "Luke," she grinned cattily. "Hi. So good to see you. Look, we've got to go before the second Ice Age sets in, so…"

She latched onto her best friend's arm and Elizabeth allowed herself to be pulled away. "I'll talk to you later, Luke, and we'll figure this out," she assured her friend as she waved goodbye. "Call me tonight or something."

Whirling back on Brenda, she gave her friend a mild glare. "Well, that was rude."

"Oh, what do I care?" Brenda asked, throwing her hands in the air. "All I know is that Sonny wanted to show me something, so damn it, we're going to see what he's up to."

Elizabeth sighed and clambered down the steps in her powder blue flip-flops. It was a warm day, which meant she could finally wear her yellow, green, and blue plaid skirt along with the matching blue tank top. "Fine, fine," she muttered.

Brenda smirked discreetly, barely able to contain her excitement. She knew exactly what "Sonny" was going to show "her" – something that would make Elizabeth and all of their friends very happy.

Shockwaves had been sent rippling through their entire group after Jason's gullibility comment after school two days ago, when the friends had finally figured out that he had meant to ask her the whole time.

They'd confronted him about it on Thursday morning, and the confession was followed by major teasing and playful ribbing. Thankfully, everyone had the good sense and common decency to keep mum about Jason's secret plans – the ones that only Sonny knew about – and not let on that anything was up. So Elizabeth remained blissfully ignorant, and Jason had gone back to his scheming.

And while Brenda wasn't entirely sure what was waiting for them on the track, she was sure that this was it.

Elizabeth breathed in the warm air as soon as they stepped out of the building. Brenda, seeing that her friend intended on standing for a moment to appreciate the beauty of the day, latched on to her elbow and tugged her toward the parking lot.

Jason's blue eyes followed them as they made their way down the crosswalk and toward the gates to the track. Normally, students that weren't on the track team waited just inside the open gates, and he was sure that was what Sonny had instructed Brenda to do.

Brenda's brown eyes darted across the track and the field in the middle, searching for Sonny or Jason. She spied Jason first as he stepped into his place at the rear of the line, and had to bite her lip to keep from smiling broadly at him. He lifted a hand in recognition, and Brenda glanced at her friend to see if she had seen.

Elizabeth was currently too occupied with the contents of her purse as she searched for her chapstick to notice. Brenda nodded once and a wave made its way up the line as Jason instructed Max to start.

The youngest member of the varsity team glanced over his shoulder one last time to double-check, and at Jason's curt nod, he grinned and began to sprint down the track. The rest of the boys followed suit at the comfortable distance of two paces, and the line was quickly making its way down the springy black turf.

Elizabeth glanced up in time to see Max pass her by, her questioning eyes falling on the blue and red _E_ on her chest. Eight more boys later, she had realized that the letters were spelling her name.

"What in the world?" she mumbled in confusion as Kyle jogged past, grinning cheekily at her, with a single red and blue dash on his chest.

Brenda giggled, hopping up and down on her toes. This was better than she had imagined. As close as she had recently become with Jason, she would never have imagined that he'd pull something as elaborate as this out of his hat. Each member of the varsity team had perfectly color-coordinated letters painted on their bare chests, and all of them were clothed only in their matching blue track shorts and their runners' socks and sneakers. It was a lovely day for the demonstration, too – the bright sunlight and humidity had already created a light sheen of sweat on their lean bodies, and Brenda couldn't say she minded the view.

Sonny was bringing up the rear, his _M_ long dry and starting to crust ever so slightly, and he could hear Jason's even breathing behind him. Everything was going great – from what he could see, Elizabeth already understood what was going on, and stood stunned next to an ecstatic Brenda. He had to give his best friend some credit; this was quite possibly one of his best ideas yet. It was unique and fun and ostentatious enough to remain a PC legend for at least a few years to come. Reluctantly, he had to admit it was even better than the _ask-your-date-over-the-intercom_ approach.

Suddenly, he heard a sharp intake of air behind him, almost a hiss, and his brows furrowed in concern. "Jason?"

"What?" His best friend's voice was strained as his sneakers pounded on the track. He struggled to keep his breathing regular and his movements controlled.

"You okay, man?"

He swallowed thickly. "Fine," came the smooth reply.

Sonny remained unsure but kept on jogging. A smirk rose to his lips when he saw how close she was. Her eyes, though still slightly confused, were dazzling at the sight before her. A small crowd had gathered beyond the gates – teachers, some parents, and a lot of students. The underclassmen were gawking at the makeshift parade, once again awestruck at the courtship rituals of their superiors.

Jason stumbled slightly behind him, bringing his clenched fist in glancing contact of Sonny's shoulder blade. The Cuban tried to look back over his shoulder but couldn't get a good view.

"Jason?"

"I'm fine," his friend assured him.

Sonny's brows furrowed. He wasn't convinced at all; _Jason_ didn't even sound convinced. His worried eyes found the gate once more. Coach Preuss was out now and standing next to Elizabeth, who was grinning from ear to ear. His coach was smirking and must have said something to the girls, because they both laughed.

Jason's eyes were glued to the black track as he silently willed himself to keep running. Sharp pain was shooting up his legs, electrifying his calf muscles and bringing burning white spots to his eyes.

"Damn it," he cursed, looking up to where Elizabeth stood several paces ahead of him. The line moved onward as Max led them down the straightway on his way to their starting point on the far end of the track.

Jason hissed once more when he missed a step and almost stumbled into Sonny. One hand found his right calf, squeezing tightly in an effort to make the pain subside as the other extended sideways as of its own volition to balance his body.

He had slowed down significantly now, and it felt as if time had slowed down with him. Sonny had turned around and was jogging backwards, his speed rapidly decreasing with each step as he tried to both help his friend and keep out of his way at the same time.

He glanced at Elizabeth, and saw the confusion – this time, apprehensive and wary – etched into her face, into her eyes. Her sapphire orbs met his coal ones, and Sonny knew his facial expression mirrored hers.

Next to her, Coach Preuss had shot into action and was running to them, each step a far-extending bound. Sonny quickly moved to the side in an effort to keep Jason from stumbling over him and possibly hurting himself beyond what ever it was he was suffering from at the moment.

Jason was trying to bring himself to a stop, and the pain grew more and more blinding with each step until the muscles in his legs gave out underneath him and he tumbled onto the track.

Elizabeth's sharp cry of his name rang through the air as she immediately dropped her books on the pavement and ran up onto the track. Sonny jumped over to his best friend at the same time that Coach did, the both of them kneeling on the track next to the stricken athlete, who was on his back and hugging his knees to his chest.

"#$," Jason got out, clenching his eyes tightly shut as his fingers dug into his shins.

"Jason?" Sonny's voice was sharp and edgy as his hand squeezed his best friend's shoulder. "Jason, man, are you okay?" He knew it was a stupid question before he said it, but that didn't stop the words from spilling out of his mouth. "What's going on?"

"Can you tell us, son?" Coach Preuss demanded as his large hands pressed against Jason's legs, probing to see if he felt more pain in one area compared to another. "What happened? How did this happen?"

Sonny frantically searched for words as Elizabeth dropped to the ground next to him. She agitatedly swept her hair behind her ear and gently lifted Jason's head, cradling it in her lap as he struggled to draw in breath.

"We…we were running, Coach," Sonny tried to explain as Jason wheezed against the pain. "I-we were running and he was fine, but it wasn't even a half-lap until he started feeling it."

"Feeling what?" his coach practically yelled. "Come on – what was it?"

"I heard him hiss, Coach, like he was in pain, but when I asked him he said he was fine." Sonny's words were a mile a minute as he helped Elizabeth half-lift Jason into a sitting position. "And then he kind of stumbled and hit me, and then he started falling. I – I don't know what to tell you."

"Jason?" Coach Preuss's fingers squeezed the boy's shoulders roughly. "Jason, come on, can you tell me how bad it is? Scale of one to ten?"

"#$ twenty," Jason hissed, his fingers white from where they were still squeezing his calf muscles. "I don't know how it happened – it was never this bad before."

"Before?" the coach repeated. "This happened before?"

"I thought it was cramps," Jason managed to explain. "#$, this really kills."

Andy Preuss didn't know what to do. Nothing like this had ever happened under his watch before – and this time, he didn't even know what his captain was suffering from. He looked up at Sonny, who had turned alarmingly pale, and decided the boy had no more information that could be of any use. They both stared at each other helplessly as Jason writhed between them.

Elizabeth's dainty sniff snapped him out of his silent reverie, and Andy watched as she gently stroked Jason's long hair and blinked back her tears of worry. When she looked up at him, Andy shook off his dread and stood up, but not before making sure Sonny and Elizabeth could support the boy.

"Brenda," he barked, spinning around to face the stunned brunette. "Call 911 – now. Tell them to get an ambulance here right away. You," he spit out, pointing at one of his track boys. "Run inside and go to the Nurses Office. Tell them what happened and that we're calling for help."

His green eyes darted to Brenda, who met his gaze and nodded back as she talked to the dispatcher. In an instant, she clicked her phone shut and ran closer.

"They said they're sending out an ambulance," she informed the coach breathlessly. Her brown eyes were laced with fear and guilt over her friend's injury. "They said to keep him off his feet and try not to move him until the paramedics come."

Without a word, Andy marched back over to his captains and Elizabeth. "Jason," he said softly, holding the boy's shoulder in his strong grip. "They're sending over an ambulance, okay? They're going to take a look at you, and you're going to be just fine. You're going to be just fine, okay?"

Jason nodded bravely and removed his hands, trying to slightly extend his legs. The pain responded with renewed force and he coiled back, grounding his teeth. Next to him, Sonny had no idea what to do, and alternated between squeezing his best friend's knee and gripping his shoulder.

Elizabeth pressed a soft kiss to Jason's temple and resumed stroking his hair, too stricken by the incident to do anything other than that. Her gaze met Sonny and she had to bite her lip to keep the tears from flooding her eyes.

The quick jolt of pain did her good, because she was aware enough to hear an ambulance's wailing siren in the distance.

"They're coming," she said in a low voice to no one in particular. She looked down at Jason, whose brows were furrowed. Despite the pain that shrouded his intense blue eyes, they were sharper than before and blazing. "They're here, Jason."

He nodded and gritted his teeth. His long fingers continued to dig into his shins as he tried to numb out the pain by creating a greater one.

The white ambulance tore down the entrance lane to the school and screeched to a halt in the parking lot right outside the gate. A team of paramedics rushed from the vehicle carrying their duffels and wheeling a stretcher.

Coach Preuss stood up and Sonny followed suit as he was half-pushed out of the way by a focused paramedic. The two of them gently pulled Elizabeth back and turned Jason over to the experts, watching helplessly as they probed him and asked him questions before lifting him onto a stretcher and securing him in place.

Brenda moved noiselessly up to join them, standing next to Coach Preuss. Her brown eyes, usually so bright and full of sparks, fell listlessly on her friend as he propped himself up on one elbow to talk to the man who was securing his legs onto the stretcher.

After a moment, Brenda glanced up at the coach and informed him that the office had already called Jason's parents and emergency contacts. Coach Preuss nodded numbly, just as affected by the sight of his captain on a stretcher as the rest of his friends were.

Elizabeth sniffled and brought up a trembling hand to cover her mouth. It had all been so sudden – one minute, he was smiling at her and running in line while his friends helped him ask her to prom. And the next – the next, he was lying practically paralyzed on the ground. Carefree and energized one moment, injured and stricken the next.

Sonny glanced down at her and noticed that her shoulders were shaking. Wordlessly, he reached out and wrapped an arm tightly around her shoulders, pulling her solidly to his chest. She didn't resist, just letting him hold her there. Her blue eyes never wavered from Jason's form, and she was furious when the first of her tears, pooling inside her eyes like liquid glass, slipped and shattered against her cheeks.

Behind her, Johnny sighed and rubbed one hand over his face. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen at all. A deep dread descended upon him as he watched Sonny's fingers gently rub Elizabeth's shoulder. The brunette blinked rapidly and extricated herself from Sonny's grip. Her friend watched as she scrubbed her tears from her cheeks, wanting to help but not knowing what to do.

A paramedic got out a needle and filled it with some sort of liquid, and Sonny closed his eyes before the shot was administered. He _hated_ needles. It was the one thing he just couldn't deal with.

The liquid must have been some sort of muscle relaxer or an extremely powerful painkiller, because some of the pain that had so visibly distorted Jason's features seemed to gradually dissipate. He appeared calmer now, and was still propped up on his elbows.

For the first time, he turned slightly and looked over at the four of them – Sonny, Elizabeth, Coach Preuss, and Brenda, all standing in a line. His teammates were scattered behind them, all of them shocked and stricken by the sudden turn of events.

Elizabeth looked as if she had been crying. Her eyes were puffy and red, and even at his distance, it was clear that her hands were trembling.

In the flurry of activity that continued as the paramedics prepared to load him into the cab of the ambulance, Jason captured her tearful gaze with his. Lifting one free hand, he waved once.

"I'll be fine."

She blinked at the sound of his voice, no longer strained and raw. Her nod was almost imperceptible as Jason called out to her once more.

"And I'll see you later."


	17. Pins and Needles

**Pins and Needles**

_This takes place on Friday the Eighth of May, the same day that Jason tried to ask Liz to prom. _

Dr. Kevin Lindstrom frowned at the documents in his hand and the boy in the hospital bed in front of him.

The boy – he couldn't have been more than nineteen years old – was frowning back, and Kevin had to remind himself to never be anything but cheerful in front of his patients.

"Now – Jason, is that right?"

The boy nodded once, a look of apprehension darting through his piercing cerulean eyes.

"All right. Jason, can you go over what happened one more time for me, please?"

Jason sighed heavily, trying to situate himself in the uncomfortable hospital bed. General Hospital really needed to invest in some Sealy Posturepedic mattresses or something. "I've been getting these really weird cramps when I run, sometimes. I first started noticing them back in March. I couldn't run very long without my legs feeling like they were about to give out or something."

"Mm-hmm," Kevin nodded. "Go on."

"It just got really bad today, I guess. I was running on the track after school and it was like someone was stabbing my calves with a knife. But I kept running, and then it got to be too much. I took my next step and my legs just gave out and I fell. And that's when it really hit – I couldn't even move them, and they wouldn't stop hurting. The pain was excruciating."

Kevin nodded slowly. "I was afraid of that."

Jason didn't like the tone of his voice or the heavy set of his shoulders. "Afraid of what? Doc, what's wrong with me?"

Kevin rubbed his chin and continued squinting down at the forms in his clipboard, making a few notes here and there with his black pen. "Jason, I'm not an expert in this area, but I really don't think it's as simple as leg cramps. If that were the case, you'd eat a banana, and you'd be done with them." He shook his head. "No, this is something more."

Jason watched him flip to the front of his clipboard and stick his pen in the metal hold.

"I want you to just sit right here while I go check on the x-rays, okay?" he said, already making his way for the door.

"Where am I going?" Jason wondered aloud, scowling as he leaned back against the understuffed pillows.

* * *

"I'm sorry, honey," Amy Vining told the three worried teenagers before her. "But your friend can't have any visitors right now. He's still with the doctor."

"Do they know what's wrong with him?" the tall dark-haired boy asked. "Do they know anything?"

Amy glanced at his chart as it was displayed on her computer screen. "Not yet."

The boy sighed in thinly veiled agitation, and the longhaired brunette at his side offered Amy a tight smile.

"Thank you anyway."

Amy nodded and watched the two turn around and walk toward the waiting room. The shorter brunette remained at the counter as if she were going to say something, but snapped her mouth shut and followed her friends.

"Amy," came a voice over her shoulder. Spinning around, the blonde nurse came face-to-face with Dr. Lindstrom. "Could you page Dr. York for me, please?"

"Sure thing," she replied, already punching the numbers on the intercom. "Dr. York to the main desk, please. Dr. York to the main desk."

"Amy! Kevin!"

The blonde nurse watched the three youngsters loitering nearby perk up as Alan and Monica Morgan came bursting into view.

"The school just called us," Monica said breathlessly. "Jason-"

"Is he here?" Alan asked worriedly. "What happened?"

"Mr. Morgan," Sonny spoke up, relief washing over his stern features. "Hi, I'm so glad you're here-"

"Sonny!" Monica stared at the three students in surprise. "Brenda, Elizabeth, what are you doing here? What happened?"

Elizabeth was the first to speak. "We don't know," she replied truthfully. "And from what we're told, neither do the doctors."

Alan glared at Kevin, who shrugged helplessly as Monica urged the distraught brunette to continue.

"He was running on the track and all of a sudden, it was like his legs couldn't take his weight and he just fell."

"He was complaining of cramps earlier," Sonny added. "Said it killed to move his legs, even."

"We called the ambulance as soon as possible," Brenda supplied helpfully. "And we drove here and have been waiting since."

Alan exhaled slowly and was about to begin interrogating his colleague when Dr. James York appeared and shouldered his way over to Kevin.

"What's going on?" he asked, his green eyes traveling over each person as they stood clustered at the desk. "What can I do?"

"Take a look at these," Kevin directed, shoving several x-rays under his nose. "And tell me what you think."

James, Alan, and Monica all took turns scrutinizing the images of Jason's gastrocnemius.

"Nothing ruptured," Alan murmured, trailing his fingers down the length of the calf muscle.

"Is it just me or does this area look inflamed?" Monica asked James who immediately looked to where her finger was pointing.

"It's not just you," the doctor said. "It _does_ appear inflamed. But otherwise, everything's fine. He definitely hasn't broken anything or sprained anything."

"But these aren't regular cramps, are they?" Kevin pressed. "Not the common kind that disappear with a little potassium."

His colleague shook his head. "No."

"I didn't think so," Kevin sighed. "But I didn't know what to make of the x-rays. I still don't."

"Me neither," Alan muttered, still holding two images. "I don't think I've ever seen this before."

"Jim?" Monica asked hesitantly. "What do you think?"

"I've seen this once," the doctor replied softly. His emerald eyes darted from x-ray to x-ray, and the teens cloistered on the opposite side of the counter strained to hear him.

"A kid came in a few years ago – about the same age as your son – with the same x-rays. No one knew what it was, but at the time, Dr. Monroe from Johns Hopkins was visiting. He said it was a condition known as Lower Leg Exertional Compartment Syndrome."

"What?" Sonny sputtered. "What the hell is that?"

The doctor raised an eyebrow at the three teens, but Monica and Alan waved him on.

"Well, it's a lot like what it sounds like. During strenuous activity, pressure builds up underneath the fascia," he explained, pointing at the muscle in the middle of the photograph. "Fascia are the membranes that cover the muscles," he added for the benefit of the three kids before him.

They nodded and he continued. "Pressure builds up underneath and the muscle undergoes what one might call an overload. The pain is excruciating and often continues until all pressure has been relieved, which is usually long after the activity has ceased. Over time, the intensity of the activity that causes the buildup decreases, so that if the condition is ignored, even the most mild exercise – like walking – could trigger the aches."

"So what's the treatment?" Monica asked, her face taut with concern.

"Surgery," James replied without hesitation. "The only known treatment is to open up the calves and cut slits in the fascia to provide a means for the pressure to escape."

"There's no other way?" Alan wanted to know, the apprehension in his eyes matching his wife's.

James shook his head. "It's the only possible treatment. The recovery time is about a week in bed and two on crutches, and then the patient is fully recovered. It's a relatively simple procedure, but the equipment needed is exceptionally high-tech."

"What are you saying?" Kevin asked, placing one palm flat on the counter as he listened intently to his friend.

"I'm saying that General Hospital doesn't have the necessary equipment or the necessary specialist," the doctor sighed. "It can't be done here."

"Then where _can_ it be done?" Alan demanded. "Do we have to take him down to the city?"

"Actually, no," James informed him. "Mercy received a government grant two years ago for new equipment, and they already have a specialist who's highly trained in matters like this. I'd recommend getting him to Mercy as soon as possible."

Monica considered his advice. "The procedure has to be done at once, that's what you're saying?"

James nodded. "If you opt to wait, simpler activities could trigger even more excruciating pain."

"So we'll send him to emergency in Mercy right away," Kevin decided. "I'm going to go talk to him."

"We're coming, too," Monica said. Turning to her husband, she tried to meet his worried gaze. "Do you think either of us will be able to get down to Mercy, Alan?"

He shook his head. "I doubt it. We're on call into the next morning. Damn."

"We can go down there with him," Brenda burst out, then blushed as the adults turned to stare at her as if they'd just remembered she was there. "Besides, that's where Beth's parents are."

Elizabeth nodded emphatically. "Yeah. I can call Mom and Dad now, and I'm sure they'll keep you posted.

Monica sighed. "I don't know if I would feel right about you kids driving all the way to Mercy…"

"It's fine, Mrs. Morgan," Sonny assured his best friend's mother. "Seriously – it's only a forty minute drive."

"And Sonny's driving," Elizabeth pointed out. "Out of all of us, he's the best driver."

"It's true," the boy asserted proudly. "You don't have to worry about it. We'll go down there and call you if anything happens."

Next to her, Alan shrugged. "Well, honey, it's the best that can possibly be done. We'd appreciate it, kids."

"No sweat," they assured him. Brenda and Sonny reached for their cell phones to inform their mothers that there had been a change in plans, and Alan and Monica turned to follow Kevin to their son's room.

"Come on, Beth," Sonny said as he grabbed her hand. "We'd better leave now if we want to make good time. It's almost rush hour and I have, like, no gas in the tank."

With that, the three friends stepped into the elevator and left the hospital.

* * *

_At Mercy Hospital…_

"So, Jeff," Dr. Anthony Mazzaferro got out around a mouthful of tuna. "How're the girls doing?"

"Fine, fine," Jeff sighed, sipping his orange juice. The cafeteria was nearly empty as he and his wife scarfed down a late lunch with one of their colleagues. "Sarah's doing well at Johns, and Elizabeth's going to go to Columbia next year. They're both doing fine."

"Sarah…" Anthony mused. "She still with that Clint kid?"

Jeff nodded. "Yeah. They're doing well. We'll be seeing him in a few months when the kids come home for the summer."

"And what about Beth?"

The blonde doctor's sigh was heavy with the weight of the world. "She's got a boyfriend, too."

"Ah."

"Yeah, it's painful."

"Oh, Jeff!" his wife clucked disapprovingly as she swatted his shoulder. "Hush, now. I like Jason."

"That's the problem," he confided in the grinning Italian. "They all do. I seem to be the odd man out here."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to him, Tony. Jason's a good kid." She glared at her husband when he huffed in disagreement. "He's smart, funny, and very polite. He always takes the time to talk to my parents about the weather and their garden and the Celtics, of course. And besides, he helps me carry the grocery in."

"That's just so that he can eat it while you try to put it away!" her husband burst out. "That kid wolfs down anything – you'd think his parents never fed him. And you know, I don't think we should either. If we continue to do so, he'll never be able to fend for himself when we release him into the wild."

"Boys his age have such strong appetites," Caroline mused absently as she polished off the last bite of her corned beef sandwich.

"And it's his _appetites_ that I'm worried about," Jeff pointed out vehemently. Shaking his head at Anthony, the doctor's dismay was evident in his voice. "No one understands my perfectly legitimate concerns."

The Italian laughed heartily and was about to reply when he heard his name over the loudspeaker.

"Dr. Mazzaferro to Pediatrics immediately. Dr. Mazzaferro to Pediatrics."

Jeff watched his friend quickly stand up and throw away the remnants of his lunch. "I'll see you kids later," was all he said as he strode from the room.

Caroline glanced at her watch and gulped down the last of her tea. "I think we'd better call Elizabeth, dear, and tell her we'll be late tonight."

Jeff nodded and reached for his pocket, only to find it empty. "Oh, damn it. I left my cell in the lounge."

His wife shrugged. "That's okay – we'll call her later. Who knows if she's even home? The kids usually gather in one spot on Friday night. Maybe they're at the Barrett's."

Jeff sighed and dragged himself to his feet. "Well, I have to get going. I'm supposed to meet up with Cohen in cardiology." He bent and kissed his wife, who remained seated at the table. "See you later, honey."

"Bye," she called as he left the cafeteria.

Jeff sauntered down the corridor to the elevators, then decided against it when he saw how many people were waiting. He ducked into the stairwell and briskly climbed two flights to the floor he wanted. As long as he was meeting Cohen, he thought he might as well grab Dr. Union, another friend of theirs.

The female doctor was currently stationed in emergency, and Jeff found his way through the hallways to the makeshift lounge area for the frenzied doctors in this wing of Mercy.

The doors to most of the rooms were open, and one patient in particular caught his eye and had him spinning around to investigate.

"Jason?"

Jason looked up from the _National Geographic_ magazine in his hands. "Dr. Webber. Hi."

Jeff stared at him, nonplused. It took the older man a minute to formulate his thoughts. "What in the devil are you doing here?"

Jason shrugged. "I'm supposed to be going in for surgery soon."

His calm answer threw Jeff for a loop. "What? What happened? What's wrong?"

Before the boy could answer, Jeff was already in the room and reaching for the medical charts. He flipped through the documents and then looked questioningly back up at Jason.

"Leg cramps?"

The boy nodded miserably. "Yeah." It still unnerved him slightly that his girlfriend's father – the same one that once assaulted him with a gardening tool – was standing three feet away from him while he himself wore only a hospital garment.

Jeff continued skimming through the sheets. "How long have these been going on?"

"Since about March," Jason replied. "I thought it was just because I hadn't run for a while after state conferences – I never thought it was serious."

Jeff nodded and Jason expected him to launch into more medical questions. But the doctor snapped the clipboard back to the bed and stepped closer. "How long have you been waiting?"

"Not too long," he answered. "A nurse came in about fifteen minutes ago and said that they were prepping for surgery and getting whatever equipment they use set up and stuff. So I'm just killing time."

"And your parents – where are they?"

Jason looked away. "They couldn't come. They're still back at General Hospital. But they did say that Sonny, Brenda, and Elizabeth were coming."

"Oh?" Jeff made a mental note to keep an eye out for the threesome.

"Yeah," the boy continued. "But I haven't seen them."

"I'm sure they're on their way," the doctor assured him as hesitantly perched himself on the corner of the bed. "Either that, or they're being held off by Big Alice at the reception desk."

Jason snickered. An awkward silence passed between the two men, and the younger one took it upon himself to fill it.

"Dr. Webber?"

Jeff perked up. "Yes?"

"Have you – have you heard anything about the Exertional Syndrome I have? Do you know anything about it?"

Jeff considered the question. "I did some reading about it a while back. It's not really my area, though," he stressed. "I don't know if they already explained this to you, but it's when the pressure builds up in your muscles."

"So this surgery is basically going to cut up my muscles?"

"Well," Jeff replied slowly, trying to think of the best way to answer. It just wouldn't do to scare the kid, not when he was alone in an unfamiliar hospital and about to undergo a rare surgery. "Yes and no. All they have to do is cut the fascia a little. Think of it as slitting the skin of a hot dog in a couple of key locations."

"Do you think I'll be able to run afterwards, though?"

Jeff just looked at the boy, letting a moment pass between them before he answered. "You really love running, don't you, Jason?"

Surprised, it was all the boy could do to nod emphatically. "Oh, yeah. Always. It's hard to describe it – but I just get such a rush when I'm running. It's really soothing, too – helps me forget about all my problems."

Jeff nodded slowly, remembering his days back in high school. "I know what you mean. I used to play basketball back in school. Hell, that's not right – I used to play basketball during every free second of every day. My parents used to worry that I'd never do anything else and that I'd waste my life on it."

Jason smirked. "Basketball?"

Jeff glared at him. "_Yes_, basketball. What did you think – golf? Please. I played a _real_ sport."

"I don't know," Jason disagreed. "Golf is pretty fun in its own right."

Jeff's eyebrows shot up. "You play?"

"My dad takes me sometimes," the boy replied. "It's fun – it's a change, you know?"

Jeff nodded. "Yeah. And everyone could use a change once in while…"

"You never answered my question," Jason reminded him. "Will I be able to run?"

"I don't see why not," Jeff replied. "You'll spend a bit less than a week in bed, about two weeks on crutches, if that, and then you'll be fine. From what I've read, patients that undergo this procedure are able to do everything they did before, but without the pain."

"Good," Jason sighed in relief. "That's what I thought. But it still kind of scared me."

Jeff remained silent for a moment. "Look, Jason, don't get an ulcer over this surgery, okay? I'm telling you completely honestly that it's a very simple procedure. You're in no danger whatsoever. Besides, we have some of the best specialists in the area here. You'll be in good hands."

Jason smiled slightly at him. "Thanks, Dr. Webber."

That was about all the bonding Jeff could take with the interloper. "Well," he said roughly, rising from the bed. "I'm going to go check with your doctors and see if we can't get this started. If I see the kids, I'll let them know what's going on. And don't worry, okay?"

"Okay."

"I'll have your parents on the line as soon as you come to afterwards, all right?"

"All right."

Jeff paused awkwardly at the doorway, unsure of how to excuse himself. He'd done his best to assure the boy that everything would be fine, and Jason did seem a bit more at ease.

"Well, all right, then," was all he said as he tapped a palm to the threshold and ducked out of the room.

* * *

_Some time later…_

"Dad!" He heard her voice before he saw her, and he squinted through the wall of orderlies to see his daughter and her friends.

"Elizabeth," he called out. As he neared, he could see the tension in her eyes.

"Mr. Webber, Mrs. Webber," Sonny and Brenda greeted them. "Hello."

"Hi, kids," Caroline smiled, trying to make the best of a bad situation.

"Any news on Jason, Dad?" his youngest asked eagerly. She was still wearing the same clothes she had worn to school, and Jeff doubted that she or the others had eaten since then.

"Still in surgery, honey," he informed her. "Have you kids had anything to eat? Why don't you let us take you down to the cafeteria?"

"I'm not hungry, Mr. Webber, but thank you," Sonny replied politely as he dragged a hand through his unruly curls. Dressed in the comfort of his gym shorts, a school t-shirt, and his sneakers, the boy certainly did not look very comfortable.

"Me neither," Brenda added, slowly sinking back onto the lounge chair and fighting off a yawn. "I'm good, thanks."

"We're fine, Dad," Elizabeth tried to convince him.

But Jeff wasn't buying it. "I don't care what you kids say – you all need to eat something. And I won't take no for an answer," he added when he saw them protest. "Come on, get up, we're taking you down to the cafeteria. It's about time you got up from those uncomfortable chairs anyway."

"Let's go, kids," Caroline said as she coaxed them up and towards the elevator.

It didn't take long to get to the three teenagers seated in the cafeteria with a sandwich and cup of milk for each one. Despite his claims of not being hungry, Sonny quickly scarfed down his turkey and his chocolate milk. Next to him, Brenda was already halfway done with her salami and strawberry milk. Elizabeth, however, did little more than pick at her tuna in an unsuccessful attempt to convince her parents she was eating.

"Don't they know anything yet?" Sonny asked his friend's father. "Anything at all?"

Jeff shrugged. "Well, he's been in surgery for the past two hours. Personally, I think they should be wrapping it up now, right, honey?"

Caroline nodded. "It's not a long procedure. They should be finishing up. I think they'll just set him up in ICU and monitor him as the anesthesia wears off. And he'll be put to bedrest for at least the next five days."

Brenda nodded. "And then crutches, right?"

She nodded. "Yes, for about two weeks. He should be fine after that."

"Well, it looks like he's done for the season," Sonny sighed. "But he will get to run again, right?"

Jeff glanced at the Cuban. "You know, that's the same thing he asked me before surgery."

"Wait-" It was the first time Elizabeth had spoken during the entire meal. "You talked to him before he went in?"

Her father barely had time to nod before his youngest glared at him.

"What did you say to him, Dad?" she demanded. "Because I swear to God, if you threatened him a catheter or pulled that macho routine, I'll never talk to you again-"

"Calm down, calm down," Jeff scoffed. "I didn't _do_ anything. And you have no business thinking about catheters, young lady."

Brenda hid her smirk as her best friend rolled her eyes.

"What did you say, Dad?" she asked again. "Because I hardly think you whiled away the minutes talking about the Mets."

Jeff sighed. "Doesn't anyone around here trust me?"

"No," his wife and daughter replied in unison.

"Fine thing," Jeff scowled. "So apparently you won't believe me when I say that all I did was try to cheer him up and tell him he'd be fine."

Elizabeth regarded her father skeptically. "Are you serious?"

Jeff glared at her. "Yes."

"Oh, honey," Caroline grinned, looping her arm over his shoulder and giving him a quick squeeze. "See, honey?" she asked her smiling daughter. "Now _this_ is progress."

Sonny and Brenda tittered quietly across the table, but one rueful glare from Jeff silenced them both. While he tried to extricate himself from his wife's grip, Jeff's pager beeped and the doctor quickly pulled it out.

"Dr. Marsden," he said out loud to no one in particular before glancing at his wife. "I told him to page me when Jason was out."

"Oh, good," Elizabeth cried, springing up from her seat. "So let's go!"

"Not so fast, Elizabeth," her father said sternly. "Finish your sandwich, and then we'll go. They need to get him set up in his room and I don't need you passing out from starvation on the second floor."

"Fine," the girl grumbled as she set to work wolfing down her sandwich. In under ten minutes, she was finished and the small group was on its way upstairs.

Jeff pushed ahead to get them clearance and took the opportunity to talk to one of the operating doctors. Elizabeth watched the other man's facial expressions and guessed that he seemed pleased with his work.

When her father returned, her hunch was confirmed. "It went fine," he informed the group. "No complications at all, and Jason's resting in his room. The anesthesia should be wearing off."

"Can we go see him?" Sonny asked hesitantly.

Jeff nodded. "Yeah. You kids go ahead," he added, turning to his wife and taking her hand. "We're going to go call Alan and Monica."

The threesome waited until her parents had disappeared from view before nervously regarding each other.

"You know what?" Sonny finally said. "You go ahead first, Beth. Bren and I will just sit out here for a little while, and then we'll join you. Is that okay?" he asked his girlfriend.

Elizabeth watched as Brenda nodded. "Are you guys sure? We could go in together-"

Brenda shook her head. "You first, Beth. _Go_," she stressed when Elizabeth didn't move. The brunette nodded nervously and took off down the same hallway her parents had. It didn't take her long to find his room, and she knocked hesitantly before walking in.

"Jason?"

At first glance, her boyfriend appeared to be asleep in the bed, but she noticed him wiggle his toes under the sheets. Silently, Elizabeth crept toward the bed and pulled up a chair to sit right at his side.

The minutes passed slowly as he remained in his peaceful state of slumber, and Elizabeth took the time to study him. He was as gorgeous as ever when he slept, if not more so. Jason must have been dreaming or drifting slowly back into consciousness because his bottom lip puckered out in a sexy pout and he mumbled something to himself while turning on his side toward her.

Elizabeth held her breath, and when she was convinced he was still asleep, she slowly brought one hand up to his face and stroked the golden hairs at his temple. Her fingers floated over the shell of his ear and she let them trail softly down his neck to his collarbone.

Jason stirred at that moment, and Elizabeth leaned closer, outlining his pink lips with her thumb. The pad of her fifth digit was still pressed to the center of his lips when she felt a flutter underneath as he gently kissed it.

Her dazzling smile was waiting for him when he opened his eyes, and Jason's heart leapt up into his throat. He just lay there for a moment, gazing up at her, before it occurred to him that he'd better say something.

"Hey."

Her fingers trailed down his jaw from his ear to his chin. "Hey, yourself." He held his breath in anticipation as she leaned forward and brushed her lips sweetly against his. Jason immediately took the opportunity to snake a hand around to the nape of her neck and hold her close as he kissed her fully.

When she pulled back, her lips were pink and bee-stung. "How're you holding up?" she whispered, her voice low and sultry.

"Okay," he replied, stretching out on his side. "Still feel kind of out of it right now."

Her fingers stroked his golden wheat locks. "That's because the anesthesia's still wearing off."

Jason nodded. "How long have you been here?"

"We followed you to GH in Sonny's car," Elizabeth explained. "And then we came to Mercy as soon as we could."

"You've been waiting ever since then?" he asked in amazement. "Elizabeth, you didn't have to do that. I didn't want you to waste your time-"

She hushed him by pressing her lips to his before pulling back enough to look at him. "Sh. I wasn't wasting my time, Jason. You're here – where else would I be?"

"You've been waiting for hours-"

She shook her head. "It was worth it."

He remained silent as a smile tugged on his lips, then reached up to frame her face with his hands and pulled her down for a kiss. "I've got the greatest girl in the world."

Elizabeth laughed into his mouth and closed her eyes against the gentle pressure of his lips against hers. Completely focused on her boyfriend and not heeding anything else, Elizabeth didn't even notice her father as he passed by the room and peeked into the window.

The older man saw his daughter smiling down at the young man in the bed and looked away before calmly walking down the remaining stretch of the hallway where his wife and the two other kids waited.

"Well?" Caroline asked. "Did you check on them?"

Jeff nodded. "They're both fine."


	18. Before The Storm

**Before The Storm**

_The accident and surgery happened on Friday the eighth of May. This takes place over the long weekend that follows as well as that four-day week at school. This is the Jason-bedrest week_.

"Hey, Mr. Morgan," Elizabeth smiled into the telephone. "It's me, Elizabeth."

_"Elizabeth, dear," the man on the other end burst out. "Why, hello. How are you?" _

"Fine, thank you," she replied politely, trying to chase around the last of her elusive Frosted Flakes. "And you?"

_"Good, good," came the robust answer. "Busy as always, but good. Do you want to talk to Jason?" _

"Actually, I was wondering if it would be okay if I came over." Finally catching the soggy flakes, Elizabeth crammed them into her mouth and deposited the bowl in the kitchen sink. "I mean, if you and Mrs. Morgan aren't busy and if Jason's up for it."

_"We're_ all _up for it, honey," Alan assured her. "Jason should be awake." He held the phone away from himself and yelled toward the stairs leading down to their finished basement. "Jason? You down there? You awake?" _

Elizabeth heard a muffled reply and smiled into the phone as she hopped into her sandals and bent over to cinch the strap.

_"Yes, he's awake," Alan said a moment later. "He's set up camp in the basement for the duration of his imprisonment, as he calls it. So, yes, honey, feel free to come on over anytime. Monica, AJ, and myself are planning to go over to Jason's cousin's house in about an hour or so, just to let you know. I'm not sure if your parents are okay with you being over when we aren't…"_

Elizabeth chuckled. "You know my dad way too well, Mr. Morgan. I'll double-check and be right over."

_"All right. See you then." _

"Bye, Mr. Morgan."

_"Goodbye, kiddo." _

No sooner had the phone been replaced in its cradle than Elizabeth was already snagging her purse off the counter and making a beeline for the garage. "Mom! Dad!" she called into the den where she knew they were reading the paper. "I'm going over to the Morgans'! I might stay for lunch!" There was no reason to mention the lack of supervision – not if she wanted to get over there and cheer up her boyfriend.

"Okay," her dad replied casually, and Elizabeth was pleasantly surprised that he didn't come barging into the foyer to demand answers to his overly-paranoid questions. She didn't know what it was, but ever since the day before yesterday at the hospital, her father had rapidly adjusted to Jason's presence in all of their lives. If Elizabeth didn't know better, she'd swear that something about Jason's brave attitude in the face of sudden and imminent surgery had impressed her father. And if she were greedy, she'd swear that her dad actually seemed to like the boy now. But that would be pushing her luck.

"We might be going over to the Carroll's," her mother informed her from the den. "So if you come home and we're not here, don't worry."

"'Kay, Mom," she called out before shutting the door behind her and racing over to her car.

* * *

"Lizabeth's here! Lizabeth's here!" Little AJ Morgan could barely contain his excitement when he saw Elizabeth's gold Acura pull into the neighborhood. He squinted out of the curtains as she parked on the street and got out, and then took off for the basement.

"Jason! Jason!" he yelled. "Lizabeth's here!"

Jason couldn't help but grin at his little brother. The young boy had taken a real liking to her, even though he had never cared to even talk to any of his previous companions. Not that the fact surprised Jason – what was there about Elizabeth _not_ to like?

"Well, don't you think you should let her in?" he asked seriously, a smirk tugging up the corner of his lips.

A look of horror passed over his little brother's face and in an instant he was charging back up the stairs, not wanting to delay Elizabeth's arrival a second longer than necessary.

"AJ!" he heard her cry when the boy greeted her at the door. "Hey, buddy, how're you?"

"Good," he smiled shyly. "Are you here to see Jason?"

Jason snickered to himself – AJ was a riot. He could almost picture his girlfriend smile at the question that was posed to her every time she set foot in the Morgan home.

"Yes," he heard her answer. "But where are your parents? I'd better say hello to them first."

"They're over there," he informed her, pointing to the office. Elizabeth walked in the direction he indicated and AJ followed close on her heels. Reaching the computer room, the brunette knocked on the door to get the adults' attention.

"Hi," she smiled. "Mr. Morgan, Mrs. Morgan. How is everything?"

"Elizabeth, honey," Monica beamed, rising from her desk chair to give the girl a hug. "Hello, hello. Everything's fine. How have you been? How's school going? Ready for the AP Exams?"

Elizabeth groaned, rolling her eyes. "Oh, man, don't remind me, Mrs. Morgan."

At the desk, Alan chuckled. "Why? Is it really going to be that horrible?"

"Calculus is," Elizabeth nodded. "I can handle the other two, but I'm worried about Calc."

Monica nodded in confirmation. "That's what Jason says he's worried most about, too. He doesn't care about Physics or Chemistry or anything else – he's just stuck on how hard the math one will be."

Elizabeth shrugged. "Well, the good thing is that we only have to review now. Mr. Alcazar's been a great teacher, and I think he's really taught us a lot, despite what he thinks. I honestly think we're ready for it – with a little more practice – even though it's still scary to think about it."

Alan smiled at her. "All of you kids will do fine," he assured her. "Well, don't let us keep you – Jason's in the basement."

Elizabeth grinned as a rosy blush stole over her cheeks. "Thanks, Mr. Morgan."

"No problem," the older man sang out as the brunette turned and disappeared down the hall.

"Those kids," Monica sighed. "They're just too cute."

* * *

"And then Maggie called him a meanie, so Pete ate her paste," AJ related to his brother and his girlfriend as he bounced up and down on the couch in his Spiderman shorts and matching shirt. "Then Maggie started crying, and Teacher put Pete in Time Out."

"Oh," Elizabeth clucked from her seat on the couch. She was sitting Indian-style on one of the large green couches in the Morgan basement, and Jason was lying on his side behind her, offering her his stomach as a backrest. "That's not good. This Pete must be a real troublemaker."

Jason smirked as his fingers grazed lightly up and down his girlfriend's bare arm. Elizabeth really had a talent when it came to little kids – AJ was his own brother and even _he _couldn't feign enough interest in his stories.

"Oh, he is," AJ assured her. "A _real_ troublemaker. He even puts his mouth on the drinking fountain."

Elizabeth's mouth formed a shocked _O_. "On the _drinking fountain_?"

"Yeah!" AJ repeated, raising his voice for emphasis. "That's _low_."

"I'll say," Elizabeth agreed. "You should never put your mouth on the drinking fountain – it spreads germs."

"Do germs make you sick?" AJ wanted to know. "Because that's what Mommy said."

Elizabeth nodded even as Jason chuckled behind her.

"So, you'd believe Elizabeth over Mom?" he teased his brother.

AJ glared at him as he bounced. "I just wanted to know what Lizabeth thinks," he replied witheringly at his older sibling.

Elizabeth chuckled and then elbowed her boyfriend in the stomach when he dared to roll his eyes. AJ watched in silent and slightly confused observation as Jason wrapped his arm around Elizabeth's narrow waist and tickled her, laughing along with her as she yelped and squirmed and hit him on the chest.

"Can I ask you guys a question?" AJ finally spoke up as his older brother ceased his tickling and apologized to his girlfriend with his lips. "OK, ew."

Jason pulled away and glared at the boy, but Elizabeth pressed her finger to his mouth to silence him.

"Sure, AJ."

"Okay," the boy began seriously, finally sitting down still on the couch that doubled as a trampoline. "So, you two are a couple, right?"

Jason glanced up at Elizabeth and caught her gaze. "Yeah," he answered, still holding it.

"So that means she's your girlfriend and he's your boyfriend, right?"

Elizabeth smiled down at Jason and nodded. "Yup."

"But how long did it take for that to happen?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, finally looking at the young boy.

"Like, when did you start dating? When did you start liking each other?"

"Well, I guess we started dating over Spring Break, right?" Jason asked Elizabeth as he propped himself up on one elbow. "In Clover?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I guess. Even though we didn't go on a real, formal date until later, all the time we spent together in North Carolina was technically dating."

"OK," Jason nodded at his brother. "We started _dating_ in Clover. Now, when did we start liking each other…?" He braved a mischievous glance at his blushing girlfriend. "Well, I started liking her from the second I picked her up when she fell in front of the lockers."

Elizabeth grinned down at him. "Well, I've got you beat – I liked you for a long time before that."

His eyebrows shot up. "Since when?" he demanded, rising up slightly on his elbow before Elizabeth pushed him back down.

"Since the first day of Calculus."

AJ watched as his brother's mouth dropped open. "The first day of – But, Elizabeth, that was all the way back in September!"

She shrugged. "Yeah, I know."

"But-But-" Jason struggled to find the right words. "Why didn't you do something? Why didn't you say something? We started hanging out in February – that's almost six months of difference, Elizabeth!"

Elizabeth shrugged again. "I was shy."

Jason huffed in disbelief. "She was shy," he repeated to his brother as he reached for her waist to resume the tickle war. "She was _shy_. That's why we waited an additional six months before we actually started talking."

Elizabeth yelped and curled into a ball as his fingers assaulted her. "Hey," she cried out. "Damn it, Jason! I was shy! What more can I say? I didn't know if you'd like me or if you even knew my name-"

He stopped then, and took advantage of the fact that his hands were gripping her waist to bring her closer, holding her mere inches from his face.

"I knew your name," he said softly as his blue eyes traveled over her face. "And I thought it was a really pretty one."

A sweet smile bloomed across her lips and she leaned down to brush her velvety lips against his. His hands framed the rose petal skin of her face, holding her in place and deepening the kiss as AJ practiced his gagging noises to provide the perfect background music.

Seeing that neither of them cared about his discomfort and disgust, AJ shrugged and asked his last question as his older brother and Elizabeth continued to play tonsil hockey.

"So, then, does that mean you guys are in love?"

Jason almost choked at the question, so couched in innocence, and Elizabeth had to gasp for air. Hovering just a scant distance over his face, she could see the shock in his eyes as he struggled to comprehend his little brother's question, much less answer it.

"Uhhh…"

And she herself, for all her stunning wordplay and excellent English skills, wasn't much better. "Ummm…"

"AJ!" His father's voice came drifting down the stairs. "AJ? Where are you? It's time to go to Chloe's!"

"Yeah!" AJ shouted as he catapulted himself off the couch, his previous question and its ensuing embarrassment a distant thought to him now. "Let's go to Chloe's!"

Elizabeth heard footsteps coming down the stairs and straightened as quickly as she could, wiping her smeared lip-gloss from her lips as Jason did the same. When Alan and Monica came downstairs to check on the three of them, all they saw was an eager AJ hopping about the room and a very calm, composed Jason and Elizabeth seated on the couch.

"Well, kids, we'll be leaving now," Alan announced as Monica ushered her two men up the stairs. "Be good and stay out of trouble."

Jason rolled his eyes, the meaning behind his father's words not lost on him or his libido. "Sure, Dad. See you. Have fun."

"Mom! Did you know that Chloe got the new Mario video game?" AJ asked excitedly as he danced up the stairs in front of his mother. "I can't wait to play it again! But I have to be Yoshi – I'm only good if I'm Yoshi."

Jason sighed as the trio reached the top of the stairs, and was about to say something to Elizabeth when his father suddenly popped back in view with a lethal glare directed at his oldest boy.

Jason scowled back and urgently waved him up the stairs, hoping Elizabeth didn't see the If You Make A Move On Her… glare being bestowed upon him.

He heard the garage door open and waited until he was sure the rest of his family was safely out of the house. When he was, he turned to the blushing brunette still leaning her lower back against his stomach.

"Elizabeth…"

"Hey," she burst out suddenly, whirling around to face him. "Are you hungry? Because I am. What say I make you some lunch?"

"Uh, sure," he replied slowly, still confused as she hopped up off the couch, taking her body heat with her as she made her way toward the downstairs kitchen. Apparently, she was still a bit embarrassed from his little brother's _faux pas_, and Jason decided that he'd better wait to tell her that he thought he was falling in love with her.

"Let's see…" Her voice drifted lazily over to him and Jason watched her bend into the refrigerator, offering him a very appealing view of her cute bottom clad in light blue denim shorts. "We've got turkey, pizza, and peanut butter. What do you feel like?"

"Not the turkey," Jason informed her. "It's starting to smell weird. Do me a favor and throw it out, please? I don't even know how long it's been sitting in there." He heard her drop the offending poultry into the trash can. "And I just had pizza for breakfast."

"Peanut butter it is," she announced triumphantly, grabbing it from the fridge and shutting the door with her bare foot. Jason watched her move to the dishwasher, her silver toe ring clinking on the tiles as she walked.

"Hey, Elizabeth," he called out. "You ever tried peanut butter and honey?"

She poked her head out from behind the wall that separated the kitchen from the stairs. "Honey?"

"Yes, darling?"

He chuckled when she grinned and rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Jason – honey?"

"Sure. It's awesome. You've never tried it?"

She shook her head.

"You wanna?"

He could see her considering it. "Sure. How do I make it – just drizzle honey over the peanut butter?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay." She set to work getting out clean knives and plates, and then dug out the honey from the pantry. Jason watched as she busily prepared the sandwiches and poured two glasses of chocolate milk for them. She stepped out of the kitchen and moved the coffee table closer to the couch so they could set their plates on it, and then went back to retrieve the food.

Jason set his plates on the table and waited until she had settled herself on the couch in front of him. Elizabeth grabbed her own sandwich and handed him hers, and he waited until she took the first bite.

"Not bad," she nodded. "It's pretty good."

Jason watched as a drop of honey squeezed out onto her thumb, and as she lifted the sticky digit to her mouth, he grabbed her wrist.

"Allow me," was all he said as he closed his lips around the tip of her thumb and licked it clean. Ever ticklish, Elizabeth was giggling before he was done, and tried to squirm away. Jason was faster, and snaked an arm around her waist and tugged until she fell down on the couch next to him, flat on her back, still laughing.

She tried to get up, but Jason kept his free hand over her rib cage, anchoring her to the couch. His bicep soon became her pillow and she glared up at him as she nibbled on her sandwich.

"We shouldn't be eating while lying down," she informed him seriously. "It's not good for digestion-"

He snuggled next to her and allowed his fingers to feather over her ribs. "We shouldn't be doing a lot of things," he replied around a bite of the gooey sandwich. "But that never stopped us before."

She laughed and scooted closer, and the two of them spent the next few hours cuddled on the couch, watching movies, listening to music, talking, or just laying quietly.

Jason had a check-up appointment later in the evening with Dr. Marsden at Mercy, so Elizabeth returned to her own home. Her parents came about an hour after she had, and all three of them sat down to a lazy dinner of chicken stir-fry and biscuits on the deck out back.

Jason and his parents returned home and the first thing the boy did after his father helped him to his permanent spot on the couch was reach for the telephone. It was only when her father complained two hours later that he had to place a call to a colleague that Elizabeth finally abandoned the telephone.

The next day was an institution day for their teachers, which meant that both Elizabeth and Jason's parents bustled off to their respective hospitals while the two teenagers got the rare opportunity to sleep in.

Elizabeth woke up around nine, hopped into the shower, quickly changed into her favorite blue "twirly" skirt and white tank top and headed over to Jason's. She knew of the spare key in the flowerpot by the door and let herself in.

Jason was still asleep on his couch in the basement, and was overjoyed to open his eyes for the first time that morning and see his girlfriend perched at his side. Elizabeth waltzed about the room, straightening cushions, opening windows, and clearing away AJ's monster trucks as she chattered on about one thing or another, but Jason was too absorbed in watching her twitter gaily about to listen.

She helped him to the bathroom where he quickly washed up and then walked him back to the couch. After setting his legs up on pillows and making sure he was comfortable, Elizabeth headed to the kitchen to make breakfast for them both.

Not wanting her to go through too much trouble on his part, Jason insisted that cereal was fine. But Elizabeth had a strong hunch that he'd been eating a lot of cereal lately, so she opted to see what else was stored in the cabinets. There wasn't much, as the downstairs kitchen wasn't used as much as the one upstairs.

After assuring him that it wasn't any trouble at all, and that she _liked_ taking care of him, Elizabeth trekked upstairs to see what Mrs. Morgan kept in her pantry. There were frozen waffles in the freezer, much to Elizabeth's distaste, and lots more half-empty boxes of cereal.

"Jeepers creepers," she muttered as she scanned the shelves in the pantry. "Is that all you people eat? Quit the Corn Flakes for one week and I'll bet Kellogg's sees a huge dip in fourth-quarter profits."

Finding nothing to her liking, Elizabeth decided that the best thing to do would be to make something. An omelet? French toast, perhaps?

But she wanted something healthy – after all, Jason still had a lot of recovering to do. He could barely support his own weight, and two days had elapsed between this morning and the surgery. Even the long scars on the back of his shaved legs were only beginning to heal.

Trying not to think about that, Elizabeth reached for the flour and grabbed a half-empty carton of eggs before running back downstairs.

"What've you got?" Jason asked as soon as she came into view. He strained to see from his position on the couch, but Elizabeth just offered him an enigmatic smile and dumped the items on the kitchen counter.

"I am making you breakfast," she announced as she got out a big bowl and set the oven to three-fifty.

"What are you making?" he repeated, but she kept her back to him as she bustled around the kitchen.

"You'll see," was all he got in way of an answer. He watched her whip up something in a bowl and then pour it in a pan and set it in the preheated oven for fifteen minutes. As the timer counted down, Elizabeth ran back upstairs and came down a few minutes later with a wire basket full of fruits.

From his spot on the couch, he had a clear view of her as she got out a knife and quickly began chopping up the fruit. Strawberries, grapes, apples, bananas, even slices of orange and grapefruit. Occasionally, she'd get a trickle of juice going down one of her fingers, and he'd be treated to watching her lick or suck it off.

The oven announced that the mystery pastry was done, and Elizabeth donned a thick mitt and pulled it out. It sat on the cooling rack as she finished with the fruit and threw the peels away.

The pastry was cut into pieces like a pie, and Elizabeth got out the plates and piled the fluffy concoction high with fresh fruit.

Reaching for glasses, she poured them both orange juice and made her way to him at last.

"So, what is this?" Jason asked, peering down at the golden pastry. Snagging a grape, he popped it into his mouth as she retrieved the juice.

"It's called a fritatta," she informed him, taking her customary spot in front of him. "Sydney taught me how to make 'em. It's just eggs, flour, butter, and a pinch of salt. You can eat it plain or with cheese, but it's exceptionally good with fruit. Plus," she added, sweeping her eyes over his form to make sure he was comfortable. "I figured you needed the vitamins."

He smiled and reached for his breakfast, the fact that she had made this just for him causing him to feel surprisingly warm inside. "Thanks – looks great."

The next half-hour passed easily as the twosome nibbled their way through breakfast while watching the morning news on television. Jason had found out not long ago that Elizabeth was a regular news nut – she rarely left the house without making sure she was at least somewhat abreast of national and international events, not to mention the weather.

When they were done, Elizabeth cleared the table and set the dishes in the sink before cleaning up the mess she had left in the kitchen. Jason lazily flipped through the channels as he waited for her to return, and sat up when he heard the unmistakable clank of the dishwasher.

"Elizabeth, what are you doing?" he asked, trying to catch a glimpse of her in the kitchen.

"Nothing," came the reply.

"That's not nothing," he informed her. "You're loading the dishwasher, aren't you?"

There was a moment of silence. "Maybe."

"Elizabeth," he groaned. "Come on, you're a guest. You don't have to do that. My mom will take care of it."

"That's not the point, Jason," she tossed back. "Just give me a second – I'm almost done."

He huffed and resumed waiting, flipping to the comedy station to see if there were any reruns of _South Park_ on. When Elizabeth came back, she saw Jason seated normally on the couch for the first time, his toes digging into the beige carpet.

"So," she smiled, taking a seat next to him and feeling a rush of warmth through her body as he pulled her into his side. Her head nestled into the crook of his neck as always as his hand gently traced large, sweeping circles on her thigh. "What do you want to do today?"

Jason flipped the channel to three and turned the DVD player on with the second remote. "Have you ever seen _The Godfather_?"

"_The Godfather_?" she asked, crinkling her nose. "Isn't that a mobster movie?"

He nodded. "Only the best one."

"No thanks," she replied immediately. "I can't stand mafia flicks."

"Why? They're amazing," Jason insisted. "What's wrong with 'em?"

"I saw _Good Fellas_ with my dad once when I was eight," she informed him, pulling her legs up beneath her on the couch. "Scared the crap out of me. Same with _Edward Scissorhands_, come to think of it. I couldn't go to the barber for a year after that one."

"Yeah, well, _The Godfather_'s a classic," Jason replied. "It's really not scary at all. What do you say – do you trust my judgment?"

She graced him with the Mona Lisa smile he loved so much while looking back up at him, and Jason was mesmerized by the way her sapphire orbs twinkled in the sunlight. "I trust you."

The simple statement brought a smile to his lips, but before he could say anything back, Elizabeth was already hopping off the couch and making her way toward the entertainment center.

"Is this it?" she asked, pulling out a three-title disc set bearing the likeness of Brando, Pacino, and De Niro.

He nodded and she slipped in the first disc before grabbing a white afghan from the loveseat across the room and returning to his side. Jason pulled it over both of their bare legs and settled back, inviting her back into her customary spot in his arms.

She sighed and waited as the opening credits rolled, and Jason took the opportunity to smell her hair. Today it was coconut. He loved it when she used coconut shampoo – it made him want to just bury his nose in her hair.

"Oh, hey, that's actually kinda neat," Elizabeth conceded as images of Connie's merry wedding floated across the screen. "Cool."

The scene switched instantly to a darkened, smoke-filled room, and Jason didn't even have to look at the TV to explain what was happening. And that was a good thing, as he was busy examining ten perfectly polished bubble gum pink fingernails.

"Ok, that's the godfather. His name is Vito Corleone, but everyone calls him the Don."

The brunette in his arms snickered. "Just like Sonny."

"Exactly," Jason grinned. "And the way he's going, I wouldn't be surprised if he started giving out orders to behead horses, either."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Ok, see that guy? He's here to ask the Don a favor. Watch."

Elizabeth nodded and listened intently to the dialogue, barely noticing when Jason leaned more heavily into the armrest, causing her to be lying square on his chest. She shivered when he trailed his fingers over her bare arm, lingering playfully over the thick strap of her tank top and the bra strap underneath.

"Elizabeth?"

"Hm?" Her eyes were still trained on the screen as the Don and his gang – including a lone Irishman – left their dark lair and rejoined Connie's wedding reception.

"I'm so glad you're here."

She shifted against his chest just enough to peek up at him. "I like it right here." Her eyes fluttered closed when he pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead.

"You know, I'm pretty lucky to have you helping me through this," he mumbled, rubbing his cheek and two-day stubble against her dark hair.

"Yeah, and you'd better remember that, Morgan, the next time I come around looking for a favor," she joked.

Jason smiled. "Seriously, Elizabeth. Thank you. I love having you here with me."

It was the closest he was brave enough to come to saying the words "I", "love", and "you" together. It wasn't that he was _afraid_ to, per se. Well, he was. But his greater concern was that Elizabeth wasn't ready to hear something like that. When AJ had mentioned it the day before, she bolted like a Welsh rabbit, and after admitting that she trusted him – which was no small statement – she had done the same. No, if she needed him to wait, then he would.

The brunette sighed happily and rubbed one hand over his chest, her blue eyes still trained on the television screen. Several minutes passed before Jason broke the silence.

"So…first day of Calc, huh?"

Elizabeth chuckled, finally sitting up and looking at him. "You still hung up on that, Morgan?"

He shrugged. "Not every day that a guy gets paid such a compliment. So…first day?"

Her eyes met the ceiling as she considered his question. "Well, actually, first week, pretty much. I noticed you on the first day, and I started liking you during that first week. Remember – it was Homecoming week, and we all had to dress up for the different days?"

Jason nodded and she continued. "I think it was the third day of the week, and it was Dress Like A Kindergartener Day. I still remember you in your Ninja Turtles shirt and olive green overalls, with that cute little red bandana tied on your head. You were just adorable."

Jason laughed at her recollection. "So of all the moments that you could have chosen to start liking me, you didn't pick the track practices or the hallway kickboxing or any of my many other studly moments. No – you had to pick the one where I was wearing a tight shirt with cartoon amphibians on it."

She giggled and reached up to stroke back the hair at his temple. "Pretty much."

"Well, all right, then."

There was a moment of silence before Jason's voice interrupted an elderly Italian man's dirty wedding song about masturbation.

"Hey – how come you never wear your hair in pigtails anymore?"

_"Jason." _

The rest of the day passed slowly and peacefully for the couple. They spent six hours watching the first two movies in the _Godfather_ trilogy, and then Jason played his clarinet for Elizabeth. By the time AJ got home from school, they had pretty much exhausted all avenues of entertainment and were only too happy to join him in a ridiculously long game of Monopoly played by the rules of a five-year-old.

Elizabeth went off to school on the next day with both hers and Jason's homework from over the long weekend. Tuesday couldn't pass quickly enough for the brunette, and Mr. Alcazar had to grin at the way she lit out of the school building at 2:40 as if her pants were on fire. Brenda and Sonny accompanied her to Jason's house, where the foursome quickly completed what little homework they had while watching reruns of _Saturday Night Live_ in the basement.

The Morgans came home early from General Hospital that day and ordered all the kids pizza. When Elizabeth finally got home in the late evening, she headed straight to her room and took a half-hour nap until her parents arrived.

Wednesday passed similarly, and since Jason had a doctor's appointment, Elizabeth returned to her own home. Her mother and father were waiting for her when she stepped in through the front door, and the three of them sat around in the den until dinner, just watching whatever happened to be on TV and enjoying each others' conversation.

Her father inquired about Jason and Elizabeth assured him that he was doing well. Jeff nodded and Caroline announced that it might be nice for them to bake a batch of cookies and show up at the Morgan home. After all, it had been entirely too long since she and Jeff got to sit down with Alan and Monica.

Elizabeth agreed immediately, and she and her mother set to work baking a gooey batch of chocolate chip cookies as Jeff rooted through his office in search of some mystery document.

When the cookies were done and sealed in plastic wrap, her father finally appeared from the den holding a magazine in his hand. When they inquired about it, he told them that it contained a special feature-length article about Lower Leg Exertional Compartment Syndrome, and he had vaguely promised Jason before the surgery that he'd bring it over for him.

The evening outing was wonderful, as the adults enjoyed sangria on the deck by the pool and Jason and Elizabeth resumed playing house in the basement. AJ was out for the evening, riding his bike through the neighborhood with his cousin, so they had the entire floor to themselves.

"Hey, guess what?" Jason asked her as she came bouncing down the stairs.

"Vanilla Ice called and said he wanted his shirt back?" she asked sweetly, gesturing to his ripped blue tank top that most likely used to be a t-shirt.

"_No_," he replied witheringly. "Marsden said that my legs were healing really well and that I didn't need the entire week of bed rest. I'll be back at school tomorrow on crutches."

"Great!" Elizabeth beamed, clapping her hands with delight. "And after only five days – wow."

"Yeah," he grinned back. "I mean, the basement's cool and everything, but I miss the sunlight."

She laughed and sat down Indian-style on the carpet in front of him. "So, do you want me to come pick you up tomorrow?"

"Sure," he nodded. "What time do you usually leave?"

"About seven-fifteen," she replied. School started at seven-forty, and she usually had a good ten minutes of free time before her first class.

He nodded again. "OK. I'll be ready."

And ready he was. Elizabeth pulled up in his driveway at exactly seven-twelve and rang the doorbell. Alan greeted her with a smile and invited her to help herself to a muffin or whatever random breakfast food was sitting on the counter, but she declined politely and made her way down to the basement.

Jason already had his backpack, which she quickly picked up, and was hopping toward the stairs with his crutches. In about five minutes, he was seated comfortably in her Acura and Elizabeth drove them both to school, the frenetic notes of – what else? – _Bohemian Rhapsody_ resonating through the speakers.

The day was rather uneventful for her, but slightly difficult for Jason. For the first time, he had to actually carry his backpack through the halls because he needed his hands free to operate the cumbersome crutches. Besides that, he had to leave class five minutes early, usually with a helpful companion, to avoid being jostled in the halls as he made his way toward the elevator reserved specifically for disabled or injured students.

But other than minor inconveniences, Jason didn't have many problems. Granted, instead of trying to trip him, Brendan now helped him grab his books, and instead of shoving him in the halls, Petey now carried his backpack along with her own. Elizabeth always helped him to class whenever she could, and the two still ate lunch together although they opted for the lush grass outside the theatre instead of the congested cafeteria.

The day ended and Elizabeth waited until the hallways and stairs were relatively empty before helping Jason to the car. She stashed their books in the backseat and helped him into the passenger side, carefully laying his crutches in the trunk.

She waited until they were stopped at the light to turn on the radio, and when she did so, _Bohemian Rhapsody_ was playing once again.

"Paradox!" she whooped, wiggling her hands out of the open moonroof as Jason stared at her, wondering what, exactly, had possibly possessed his girlfriend. "Time stopped!"

_"What?" _

She seemed to remember that he was with her at the moment because she blushed a really pretty pink, causing Jason to wonder if other parts of her body looked that nice when she blushed. He bet they did.

"Oh, don't pay attention to me – it's just a stupid little joke I have with myself."

_"Paradox?" _he repeated. "What's that?"

"Well," she began, trying to find the right words to explain. "When the past and future – or in some cases, the present – meet, then what occurs is a paradox. In scientific terms, it has something to do with the space/time continuum and all that jazz, and in literary terms, it just means contradiction or irony."

"So why did you just say it when you turned the radio on?"

"Because this song was playing when I turned the car off this morning, and it's playing when I turned it on," she explained. "So the past met what was then to be the future. A paradox. That means time never really passed between the two points in time." She turned to him then, adjusting her slim sunglasses over the bridge of her nose. "Silly, huh?"

"Yeah."

_"Jason." _Despite the fact that he was crippled, Elizabeth still took the opportunity to whack him on the arm, and Jason couldn't help but laugh.

Presently, they arrived back at the Morgan house where Elizabeth immediately helped Jason down to the basement. He collapsed on the floor in weariness, glad to cast aside the painful crutches, as she ran back out to the car to bring in their backpacks. Because it was late in the year and they were both graduating seniors, there wasn't much homework. But whatever work there was, they did it dutifully before setting it all aside and resuming their marathon-studying for the AP exams.

"I can't believe they're next week," Elizabeth grumbled to herself as she thumbed through her Psychology notes.

"And I can't believe Ms. Purdy didn't bother to teach us anything this year," Jason groused right back. "It's an AP class, and yet all we did was watch stupid 'tree in the wind' – what was that? _Nelle? _Jodie Foster was in it – movies and do those retarded _Cosmo_ quizzes."

"Yeah," his girlfriend agreed over the neon orange vocab cards she was busy setting up before them like a giant checkerboard from Hell. "You'd think we could actually fit in some actual work, but noooo. That class was so mindless."

"OK," Jason began, leaning forward and helping her arrange the cards. "I'll quiz you first, okay?"

She nodded and the two busily got to work, barely looking up when his parents came home with burgers and fries. Elizabeth only got up twice – once to use the bathroom and once to call her parents and let them know she was studying with Jason. The two nibbled down their dinner as they shifted from Psychology to Calculus.

Ten minutes into their math study session, Jason got a call from Taggert. He wanted to know if they could arrange some type of study group, and Jason just invited him to come on over. Within fifteen minutes, Sonny, Luke, Taggert, Ryan, and Charlie were all over with their books, notes, and calculators.

Jeff and Caroline even dropped over later in the evening, apparently tired of wondering where their daughter was. Elizabeth barely looked up from her three-dimensional conic section graph when her parents wandered down the stairs along with Jason's.

They tried to do their best to help the kids, but when Ryan began postulating a new theory about the approximation of the area under a curve being just an average of every single existing slope, they realized they were in way over their heads.

The study party raged on until ten-thirty, and Elizabeth was the first to say that she thought it was time she got home and went to bed. After all, they still had school tomorrow, and it was a particularly busy day for her. The rest of the boys agreed and slowly dispersed after making plans to get together the following day to resume the marathon.

Jeff offered to drive Elizabeth's car the three miles to their home as his wife drove the car they had originally come in, and the exhausted brunette agreed. She somehow managed to stumble straight from the front door to her bathroom, where she haphazardly brushed her teeth and barely managed to shed her jeans and baby tee before collapsing under the sheets.

Elizabeth awoke early on Friday morning just so she'd have time to take a nice, long, steamy hot shower. It did wonders for her aching back and neck – spending hours leaning against the Morgans' oversized couch was not a good way to go – and an Advil cinched the deal.

She picked up Jason at promptly seven-fifteen, and they drove to school together. She helped him to his first hour class and waved hello to Roni before dashing up to her own room on the third floor where Mr. Lewis was waiting for her. Thankfully, he knew where she was and didn't put her through the embarrassing ordeal of explaining why she was thirty seconds late.

The first and second hour passed before she saw Jason again as she made her way to her AP English class on the third floor. He was at his locker and Sonny was helping him dump his books and backpack inside.

"Jason?" she called, her strappy sandals clicking on the floor as she walked over. "Where are you going?"

"I have another appointment today," he answered, pulling his head out of his locker long enough to look at her. "Did you forget?"

"I did," she admitted. Sonny snickered and she glared at him before glancing from one boy to the other. "Need any help?"

"We're good," Sonny assured her. "The 'rents are waiting downstairs, so he'll be fine."

Jason nodded and gripped his crutches as Sonny slammed his locker shut and locked it. "Yeah. See you in Calc, Elizabeth."

She kissed him quickly, ignoring Sonny's patronizing _awww_. If Jason had been able to, he'd have immediately sucker-punched his best friend, but Sonny knew that his hands were otherwise occupied and took full advantage of that.

"See you boys later," she called over her shoulder as she ran to her own classroom around the corner.

"See you," Jason replied, his eyes glued to the seat of her denim capris.

Sonny walked him downstairs where his parents were waiting at the Main desk, and exchanged pleasantries as they signed the release sheet. Waving goodbye to his best friend, the Cuban turned and made his way back to his English class.

Jason stretched out in the back seat of his dad's Lincoln as they drove to Mercy. His parents were chatty and optimistic, and encouraged by Marsden's glowing reports of how well Jason's muscles were healing.

After half an hour, thanks to his dad's death-defying highway driving skills, the Morgans found themselves at Mercy. They rode the elevator up and slowly made their way to Dr. Richard Marsden's personal office.

"Hello," the doctor smiled stiffly as they entered. "How are all of you doing this morning?"

Alan and Monica smiled back as Jason quickly hobbled over to the nearest chair, eager to set down the offending crutches. "Fine, thanks."

"So, Richard," Alan began, seating himself and folding his hands in his lap. "What's the good word?"

His question surprised the doctor slightly, and it took him a minute to compose himself. In front of him lay a thick file filled with what Jason assumed to be x-ray images of past and present and all sorts of miscellaneous charts. The doctor carefully lifted the file and brought it closer, exhaling slowly before opening it gingerly.

"Alan, Monica, Jason."

Immediately, Jason knew that he didn't like the tone of his surgeon's voice. Dr. Marsden's black eyes remained glued to the x-ray photographs as he selected a few and turned them upside-down before placing them in front of his parents.

"Well, I might as well not beat around the bush. I have some bad news."


	19. Fallen

**Fallen**

_This takes place on Friday the fourteenth of May. Remember that Prom is on the twenty-ninth. _

"Beth!"

Elizabeth turned and kept walking backwards, searching for whomever it was that had called her name. She finally managed to make out the blonde head of Carol Benson peeking out from between the shoulders of taller senior boys, and slowed down so the girl could catch up.

"Hold up!" Carol's cork platforms clattered across the tiles as she half-trotted over to the waiting brunette and greeted her with a dazzling grin.

"Hey, Carol," Elizabeth smiled, tapping her amethyst-frost nails against the spine of her Psychology book as she swung her Lone Ranger lunchbox from the other hand. "What's going on?"

"Nothing much," the brunette tossed back easily, a cat-ate-the-canary grin gracing her delicate features. "Oh, wait, there _was_ a little something I meant to tell you – _guess who got a prom date!" _

Elizabeth laughed as Carol's catty grin blossomed into a full-fledged, ear-to-ear smile. "Yes! That's great! Who is it?"

The blonde licked her lips and swept her tawny bangs behind her small ears as they descended the staircase, heading straight to the cafeteria. "Well, I asked Jason to hook me up with someone, and he set me up with one of his intramural track coaches from PCU."

"Ooh, a college boy," Elizabeth tittered, laughing along with the blonde. "So? Does this college boy have a name?"

"Oh," Carol nodded quickly. "Yeah – it's, um, Steven Lars? I think that's it. Lars. Yeah, that's right."

"So?" Elizabeth pressed. "Come on, Carol – you've never been stingy with details. Spill!"

"Well," the slim blonde smirked, adding an exaggerated swing to her hips. "He's tall, with this really curly blonde hair and super-cute dimples. Plus, he has these huge gray eyes and this amazing laugh – he's gorgeous, Beth. We talked on the phone last night for, like, two hours. I freaking can't _wait_ for prom."

Elizabeth smiled as they strolled down the hallway to the lunchroom. "That's great, Carol. And who knows – you think this could be something more?"

The blonde slid her a sideways glance, a sinister smirk claiming her thin lips. "Possibly."

"Excellent," Elizabeth snickered, tossing her brown curls over her shoulders. "That's the way to do it."

Her friend was about to say something, but instead, her attention turned to a figure further down the hallway. "Jason?"

The figure turned and stopped, bringing a genuine smile to Elizabeth's lips.

"Jason," she called happily as she and Carol trotted up to meet him. "Hey, back from your appointment already?"

His nod was almost imperceptible, and he remained quiet as the two reached him. Elizabeth immediately raised her hand in an offer to carry his backpack, but he waved it away and fixed his crutches before they started walking again.

"Jason, I can't thank you enough," Carol swooned, shaking her fine blonde hair until it cascaded over her shoulders in unruly waves. "Steve's great – oh, man, we are going to tear it _up_ at the dance."

Jason nodded once as they reached the Commons. "No problem. Glad you two hit it off."

"Hit it off?" Carol repeated. "Well, that's an understatement!" She flicked a wrist at a nearby table, waving to Jenny and Brenda. "Come on, let's go sit with them. We haven't sat in a huge group in such a long time."

Jason and Elizabeth followed the excited blonde to the table where all of their friends sat. "So, what was I saying? Oh, yeah. We're way beyond hitting it off. He's incredible, Jason – where have you been hiding him this whole time?"

Sonny smirked and took a big bite out of his roast beef sandwich as Brenda giggled next to him.

"Are we talking about Carol's college guy?" Her brown eyes danced with mirth as she stood up and pulled out a chair for Jason. He sat down slowly, wearily, and Sonny leaned his two crutches against the side of the table.

"What else?" Elizabeth grinned back, taking a seat between Jason and Lexi. "That's all Carol's been talking about."

"Oh, shut up," Carol huffed irritably as she removed a small carton of peach yogurt and a sandwich bag of granola from her brown paper lunch bag. "I've listened to you prattle on about _Jason_. The way I see it, you owe me – Ow!"

She glared at the brunette seated across the table as she leaned down and rubbed her shin. "What the hell did you do that for?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and turned to glare at Brenda when the girl dared to laugh. "And what's so funny, Bren?"

"You," the brunette giggled, taking a dainty bite of her nectarine.

"Oh, really?" Elizabeth's stern glare did little to quell Brenda's laughter. "Because I seem to remember when all _you_ wanted to do was prattle on about _Sonny_."

Carol snickered as Brenda returned the murderous look, and her brown eyes fluttered over to her boyfriend as he sputtered on his milk.

"Don't get too cocky, _Don, _" Brenda muttered under her breath, biting her nectarine in resignation. "And more importantly – don't say a word."

Sonny put up his hands in mock defeat, a sinister grin still dominating his dark features. "Wasn't going to."

"So, anyway," Carol interrupted, apparently tired of not being able to dominate the conversation. "Steve's a Bio major and he's on the tennis team over there, which is, like, so totally perfect because I've been playing tennis for forever, and…"

Brenda leaned past Jason to her best friend and quirked an eyebrow at the rambling blonde. "Any end in sight, you think?"

Elizabeth shook her head and her chocolate waves tickled Jason's forearm. "Nope. She'll blather on and on until we bleed."

And for the most part, she was right. Carol kept talking about Steve, and Brenda and Elizabeth kept teasing her. Jenny and Lexi decided to stay out of it, and spent the lunch hour trying to keep down their giggles along with the boys.

Jason, however, remained quiet and concentrated on his lunch. The girls around him kept chattering, Sonny kept making lame jokes, and Carol wouldn't shut up. Whereas he usually wanted the lunch period to be longer, Jason found that he couldn't wait for it to end.

* * *

The enemy was bearing down on her. Elizabeth's eyes darted from one to the other, each with their arms outstretched and flailing, a determined set to their faces, and those darned yellow flags tied around their waists.

"Beth!" Jenny waved a hand at her, and Elizabeth let the football fly. The redhead caught in close to her chest and managed to dodge the other team all the way to the endzone for the final touchdown.

Their P.E. teacher blew the whistle, letting them all know that the game was over and it was time to head down to the locker room to change. Jenny trotted up to Elizabeth and the two smacked high-fives as they headed for the double-doors.

"I hate getting all sweaty in gym," Jenny complained as she stripped off her gym t-shirt to reveal a white tank top as they clambered down the stairs together. "Then you smell like gym sweats for the rest of the day. Even if you take the shirt off, the stench, like, marinates on your body."

"Thanks for the description." Elizabeth rolled her eyes and received a light smack on the shoulder, courtesy of her tall auburn-haired co-editor. The pair found their way to their lockers and focused on undoing the combo lock. Their lockers opened simultaneously and they quickly set to work shedding their offensive uniform.

"So," Jenny began as she struggled out of her tank top and into her black Fraggle Rock t-shirt. "How much longer is Morgan on the crutches?"

"About a week," Elizabeth replied. Her blue sweatpants found their way to the floor and she wiggled into her low-rise jeans. "More or less. The doctors say he's healing well, so I don't even know if he'll have to use them for another week. We'll see."

"Was he not here for part of the day?" her friend wandered aloud. "Didn't see him in Chem."

"He had an appointment today," Elizabeth clarified from somewhere inside her ACDC concert shirt. It had belonged to Sarah and naturally, she had stolen it when her big sister moved away to college.

"Oh. How'd it go?"

"Actually, I don't know," Elizabeth admitted, pulling her hair brush from her backpack. "He didn't say much, except, like I said, that he might not be needing the crutches for as long as they thought."

"Good!" Jenny beamed, clapping her hands. "So he'll be able to dance at prom! Excellent!"

The five-minute bell rang and the girls passed the locker room mirrors, did a quick hair check, and raced up the stairs and on to their last class.

* * *

After fifty minutes of listening to Mrs. Purdy prattle on about her son, Jacob, and wading through the latest _Cosmo_ quiz, Elizabeth's last period AP Psychology class finally let out. Their teacher had finally seemed to realize that AP exams were the next week and had distributed a comprehensive study guide to the brave students that actually felt they could take the test on their own, but other than that, she hadn't changed her teaching habits.

Elizabeth and Petey both headed for their lockers, eager to unload their books and get on home. The weather had been gorgeous as of late and spending extra hours in school just didn't seem too appealing. As she managed to pull her Calculus book out of her perpetually crammed and disorganized locker, Elizabeth made a mental note to actually get out and take full advantage of the warm weather as soon as all her AP exams were done.

"So, what're the plans for tonight, Beth?" Petey asked amiably as she straightened her cardboard cutout of Peter Frampton.

"I have a date with my math book," the brunette replied sourly. "I swear, if I get a four out of five on this exam, I will be incredibly happy. I don't know what I was thinking when I registered for Calc."

"Hey, at least there's a chance that you can get out of it in college," Lauren supplied, trying to be helpful. "And college math has got to be an even bigger pain in the ass than the stuff you're doing now, right?"

"Most likely," Elizabeth agreed. The two girls remained silent as they thought back to what homework they had received that day, and presently Lauren began humming.

Elizabeth grinned at the daily tradition and helpfully supplied the lyrics. _"No one told you life was gonna be this way: your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's DOA." _

_"It's like you're always stuck in second gear, when it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year, but.." _

Elizabeth nodded her head to the catchy beat as they sauntered down the hall toward their friends' lockers. _"I'll be there for you when the rain starts to fall. I'll be there for you, like I've been there before. I'll be there for you 'cause you're there for me, too." _

"Hey, guys," Sydney chirped as they neared her locker. "Can you believe how completely gorgeous it is outside? I'm going to go home and fall asleep in the back yard – that's what I'm going to do."

"Sounds great," Elizabeth agreed. "Nothing like falling asleep in the sun."

"No kidding." Sydney was currently deciding whether or not she needed to bring her backpack home. Deciding against it, she ended up cramming it into her locker. "By the way, where's that fool of yours? He has my _Merchant of Venice_ and _Pudd'nhead Wilson_."

"Jason's around somewhere," Elizabeth shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I haven't seen him around much today." Maybe it would be okay to put off doing Calculus for a few hours, she mused, and see if Jason wanted to go grab a burger or see a movie.

Before long, Carol and Brenda joined the small group and the conversation once again made a sharp turn to the debonair Steven Lars. Jenny and Lexi happened to wander in somewhere in the middle of Carol's gabbing, prompting the blonde to start from the beginning.

Elizabeth was leaning back against Sydney's locker when she spotted Sonny coming up from his last hour class. He smiled at her as he approached, and Elizabeth turned away from the rest of her group.

"Hey, Sonny, have you seen Jason?" she asked curiously. "He wasn't by his locker when I came down."

"Sorry," he replied with a quick shake of his head as he located his Spanish book. "I don't have a clue."

"Oh." She leaned one shoulder against the lockers. "I thought you might have seen him."

A silence descended between them and both their thoughts drifted to Jason. Although neither said so, both Sonny and Elizabeth wondered if he was intentionally making himself scarce, for whatever reason. He hadn't said anything at lunch, he hadn't walked with them to class, and he wasn't even around after school.

Marcus and Luke nodded at Elizabeth as they walked past on their way to their own lockers, and both boys received a quick smile.

"I don't know what's going on," Taggert admitted, continuing the conversation he and Luke had been having since they left the locker room. Both boys were in the last-hour weight-training class with Jason, and their tall blonde friend was now the subject of their conversation.

"Me neither," Luke agreed. "Do you think Beth knows anything?"

"I doubt it." The boys reached their lockers and dumped their bags on the ground, still continuing their discussion in hushed tones. "Dara was sitting with them all at lunch, and she said that Morgan was really quiet and didn't really say much. She said she didn't think that either Sonny, Brenda, or Beth picked up on it as something out of the ordinary, you know?"

Luke nodded slowly as he stooped to open his backpack. Taggert's girlfriend was very observant and excellent when it came to picking out the little things; if she said something seemed off about Jason, he had no trouble believing it. Especially after their last class together. Jason had been extraordinarily sullen and had come close to losing his temper several times. And that just wasn't him.

Marcus pulled out the pencil he usually kept stored in his Afro. "He wasn't like this yesterday, was he?"

Luke shook his head. "Nope. Something must have happened today. And whatever it was, it really pissed the Golden Boy off."

Just then, Jason came storming down the hallway. Or at least, he stormed as much as his cumbersome crutches would allow him to. Taggert and Luke both watched quietly as he dropped his crutches on the floor with a loud _clunk_ and little regard for their well-being, and then did the same with his backpack. His face was dark and stern as his fingers jerked the combo lock, fairly wrenching it off when he got it open.

The zipper to his backpack was ripped open violently and Jason dumped a few books in before slamming his locker door shut with terrible force and forcing the lock into it. Marcus and Luke exchanged quizzical glances, and this time, Jason noticed them.

"What?" he growled. "What're you looking at?"

Marcus' eyes darted to his friend for a quick save, but Luke just studied Jason.

"You okay, Morgan?" he finally asked, crossing his arms over his chest and abandoning his backpack where it lay by his feet.

Jason glowered at him, already bending to retrieve his crutches. "Yeah, Spencer, I'm #$ peachy."

He took his first steps, aiming to breeze around the two boys but Marcus was quicker and moved next to Luke to intercept him.

"Look, Morgan-"

"Get out of my way, Taggert," Jason glowered. "I'm not in the mood for this right now."

"Gee, thanks, Captain Obvious," Luke drawled. "I'm so glad I ran into you." Even the lethal glare that Jason fixed on him did not seem to bother the trumpet player.

"What the hell do you want, Spencer?"

Marcus stepped forward then on Luke's behalf. "Look, Jason, we're all friends here, right? We've been playing together since Little League. We know when something's pissing you off, man, so what is it?"

Jason rolled his eyes. "Nothing, all right? I'm going to leave now – hopefully, you can run this episode of Oprah without me."

"Nothing, huh?" Luke called as Jason moved past them. The blonde stopped, his grip tightening on the crutches as Luke finally turned to face him. "Well, _nothing_ sure explains why your nostrils were flared wide enough to park two Buicks in 'em."

Jason didn't say anything, so he pressed on. "So what is it? Falling behind in school? Problems with the 'rents?" The boy didn't bite, and Luke licked his lips before asking his last question. "Something up between you and Beth?"

"No," Jason replied quickly, just as Luke knew he would. "That's…not it."

"Look, you don't have to say anything," Marcus finally spoke up. "It's cool. But you definitely need to loosen up, man."

He turned to Luke, who was already thinking of ways to cheer up their friend. "What're you doing right now, Morgan?"

Jason glanced quizzically at Luke. "Going home."

The trumpet player stepped forward, his arms still crossed over his chest. "Come over to my place – we'll just hang."

Next to him, Taggert was nodding. "Yeah, Morgan, let's do that."

It took them a few minutes to convince Jason to tag along, but when he finally agreed, Taggert and Luke scooped up their backpacks and ambled down the hallway past where Elizabeth stood with the rest of their friends.

"Hey," she smiled as soon as she saw him. Sonny tipped his head at him as the petite brunette stepped forward and placed a hand on his forearm. "You want to do something right now? Get a bite to eat? See a movie? Maybe-"

"Maybe later," Jason replied quietly. There was something in his eyes that Elizabeth couldn't exactly place, and that made her feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Okay," she got out slowly. "Uh, if you change your mind, call me?"

He nodded once. "Yeah. I'll do that. See you later."

She rose on her toes to kiss him, and was surprised when he didn't respond as he usually did. Sonny moved to stand next to her and they both watched in confusion as the three boys descended the staircase and disappeared from view.

"That was weird," Sonny shrugged, picking up his backpack and grabbing Brenda's hand. The brunette was only too happy to have a reason to escape Carol's babbling, and quickly said goodbye to their friends.

"No kidding," Elizabeth sighed, her narrowed eyes still on the stairwell.

* * *

It was seven o'clock, and Jason Morgan had no plans of moving. Luke's basement was just too damn comfortable.

Marcus was sprawled in a black bean bag chair with a video game controller in his large hands, currently trying to infiltrate enemy headquarters without getting killed. Luke was seated on the floor, leaning up against a small two-person couch, the remote to the stereo in one hand and a can of beer in the other. BB King was blasting from the oversized speakers, resonating through the frame of the house, and Luke wouldn't have it any other way.

Jason was situated on the large tan couch directly opposite to Luke, nursing a matching beer as he watched Taggert open fire on enemy agents. He didn't remember how long they had been sitting there in Luke's basement, but he _really_ did not want to leave. And since he and Luke had already tossed a couple of empty cans into the garbage can, he didn't think it was a wise idea to have Luke drop him home.

The beer had created a pleasant buzz in his head and enveloped him in a warm haze, and Jason stretched languidly on the couch. Luke lifted his head from the seat of the couch he was leaning against, studying his friend. Jason's features were relaxed now, and he no longer looked like he'd off the next guy who looked at him funny.

The blonde swirled the last bit of beer around the bottom of the can before gulping it down. If this helped Morgan loosen up a bit and forget his problems for a little while, it was all good.

* * *

_Monday morning…_

"Beth!"

Elizabeth turned around to see Jenny flying down the center of the hall in her blue high-topped tennis shoes. She waited until the taller redhead had caught up and then resumed her walk down the hall to English.

"Why weren't you at Syd's Saturday night?" her friend inquired. "Everyone was asking for you. How come you didn't show?"

Her shrug was lacking in effort. "I just didn't feel like it, to be honest. Besides, I had a lot of work to do. The AP exam for Psych is tomorrow, English is on Wednesday, and Calculus is on Thursday."

"Oh, that's right," Jenny nodded. "Well, then I can understand. We just missed you."

"What'd you guys do?" Elizabeth couldn't help asking as they entered their classroom. Mrs. Hornsby was seated at her desk, and she smiled at them as they took their seats by her desk.

"We made these awesome monster cookies and watched _Three Stooges_ reruns," Jenny replied. "And then we played Bocce ball in the dark. I don't recommend that. Syd almost lost a kidney."

Elizabeth smiled. "Yeah, well, sounds like fun." She stifled a yawn and dragged a hand through her hair before pulling it into a messy ponytail. "Sorry I missed it."

Jenny frowned and quickly waved at Sydney as the girl rushed in just before the bell. "You okay, Beth? You look like crap."

She got a wry smile in return. "Gee, thanks."

"You know I don't mean it like that." The redhead cocked her head at the smaller brunette. "You doing okay? Remember – don't kill yourself over these APs."

Elizabeth nodded quickly. "Oh, I know. That's not it."

"Then what is it?" Jenny pressed. Disappointed when Elizabeth pursed her lips and shrugged in response, Jenny called out to her teacher.

"Mrs. Hornsby, Beth and I are going to the bathroom," she announced, rising from her seat and half-pulling Elizabeth with her.

"OK, girls," Georgia nodded absently as she collected the rest of the papers. She always believed in running her AP class like a college class – she didn't mind at all if her kids got up in the middle of a lecture and left to use the washroom. Usually, they were very good about coming back quickly.

Jenny closed the door behind them and turned to Elizabeth, who was already edging further down the hallway. "All right, Beth," she started firmly, draping an arm over her friend's shoulder. "What's eatin' ya, babe?"

"Jenny, really, it's not imp-"

"Hey, girls!" Brenda had just stepped out of her US History class and into the hallway, and grinned upon seeing her friends. "What's shaking? And Beth," she added, flipping her hair over her shoulder as they casually sauntered down the hallway. "Where were you last night? I called, but you didn't answer your cell."

"I was studying," Elizabeth informed her. "Sorry I couldn't make it."

"No big deal," Brenda shrugged. "We were just wondering where you were."

"OK, Bren," Jenny cut in, gesturing to the brunette between me. "Tell me something – doesn't Beth look different? Like something's bugging her?"

Brenda stepped in front of her best friend, effectively stopping her march down the hallway, and stared quizzically after her. It only took her a moment to get her answer, and pursing her lips, she asked, "OK, what's wrong? What happened?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and tried to extricate herself from Jenny's hold. "Nothing, guys, seriously – let it go. It's nothing."

"I think we've already established that we're not going to take that as an answer," Jenny quipped, crossing her arms over her olive green Che tee-shirt. "So spill already."

"Beth," Brenda started quietly. "You know you can talk to us, right? We'll always listen if you want to get something off your chest."

Elizabeth was wringing her hands and biting her lip, and both girls knew it was only a matter of time before she came clean. And they were right.

"I-I think Jason's avoiding me," Elizabeth finally confessed. "I'm not sure, but I think he is. I don't see how it could all be a coincidence."

"Wait – what?" Jenny looked quite surprised – clearly, the redhead hadn't been expecting such a response.

"Avoiding you?" Brenda parroted. "Really? Beth, are you sure?"

"I think so," the brunette sighed helplessly, leaning her back against a locker. "And I have no idea why."

"So – hold on a sec – what did he do, exactly?" Jenny wanted to know.

Elizabeth licked her lips. "Well, do you remember lunch on Friday?" Both girls nodded. "Was it just me, or did Jason not say _anything_ during it?"

Jenny and Brenda exchanged similar glances. "Well, that doesn't mean-"

"And then he didn't let me walk him to class," Elizabeth continued, "like he always does. And after school when I asked him if he maybe wanted to do something, he got this really weird look on his face and said maybe next time, or something."

It was Brenda's turn to bite her lip. "Well, maybe he was just tired or something," she offered helpfully.

"It wasn't just that, though," Elizabeth disagreed. "I thought the same thing, but I called him up on Saturday to see if he wanted to study for Calculus together, and his mom said he was still asleep."

"So?"

"It was one o'clock in the afternoon!"

"Oh."

A few stray locks slipped from Elizabeth's ponytail to frame her face. "And we were supposed to take a break from studying and go see a movie on Saturday night, but he called and bailed on me. That's when I started thinking that something was up, so I called a couple times on Sunday, and his mom and dad said he wasn't home, even though I could have sworn I heard his voice in the background once."

Jenny let out a low whistle. "Damn."

"Yeah," Elizabeth agreed, sliding down to the floor. "I just don't know what's going on. Why would he avoid me?"

"Did you guys, like, fight recently or something?" Jenny asked. "Is there any way that he could be angry about something?"

"We rarely fight," Elizabeth replied. "And besides, Jason doesn't stew over things. He lets it go."

"Is everything okay at home?" Brenda asked, her eyebrows pulled into a V.

"From what I know," Elizabeth shrugged. "He's never really had problems with his parents. I really don't think that's it."

"I can't think of anything else," Jenny sighed sadly. "He's such a mellow guy – nothing really gets him. The same thing that makes Brendan freak out just rolls right off of Jason." She snapped her fingers at Elizabeth. "Hey, maybe Brendan knows something. Maybe Jason got into a fight with one of the guys or something."

"I'll ask Sonny, too," Brenda offered eagerly. "There's a good chance that he knows, right?"

Elizabeth tucked her chocolate locks behind her ear. "Maybe."

"Sure," Jenny asserted firmly, reaching out a hand and pulling the tiny brunette to her feet. "We'll get to the bottom of this. Seriously, how complicated could this be – they're guys."

Her statement had its desired effect, and Elizabeth cracked a smile. When they said goodbye to Brenda and headed back to their English class, the brunette felt much lighter.

* * *

Jason sighed as the elevator doors opened onto the first level. It was lunch time again, and that meant heading into an overcrowded cafeteria and trying to scarf down a full meal in twenty minutes as the girls at their table chattered on and on about nonsense.

Their usual table was almost full as he ambled over toward it, and as Jason took a seat next to Sonny, he noticed that Elizabeth and Brenda weren't around.

He unwrapped his sandwich with a sigh. She had called up several times over the weekend, but he couldn't bring himself to talk to her. Part of him was embarrassed over ditching her to hang out and booze up with his friends on Friday, and the other part didn't really _want_ to talk to her. If he told her what was going on, she'd fuss over him and go out of her way to cheer him up and get him to talk, and he didn't want that. Plus, there was the terrible possibility that she'd feel sorry for him, and he definitely didn't want that.

And that was partly why he'd broken off their date on Saturday. That and because he could still feel the lingering effects of his hangover from the night before. He had managed to convince his parents that it was just from fatigue and hitting the books too hard, and they had believed him. But that night, he just didn't want to leave what had now become his permanent camp in the basement, and had canceled the date and taken the opportunity to let her know that she didn't have to come pick him up for school on Monday morning – his father said he'd drop him off.

She had called again on Sunday, and Jason had wondered if she suspected that something was up. He had convinced his parents that he wasn't feeling well and wanted to be left alone, and they had told her that he wasn't home. The first time she called, he had felt pretty bad about it. But by the time she called the fourth time, for the last time, he didn't feel too terribly about it. Maybe it was even better this way – for right now.

His sullen mood had persisted throughout the weekend and into Monday, and his parents had indulged him, hoping he'd come out of the funk on his own. But now, as he glanced up and saw Brenda and Elizabeth hurrying in through the lunchroom doors, he only sank deeper.

Elizabeth's cheerful smile faded slightly when she saw that Jason was sandwiched between Sonny and Carol, and that the only two empty seats where on the other side of her Cuban friend.

She shrugged at Brenda and edged her way in, making sure to let her hand linger on Jason's neck as she squeezed by. He looked up at her and she smiled. She would have been happy if the smile he offered in return reached his eyes.

Their table was already abuzz with typical lunchtime activity as Carol glowered over the fact that Steven had dated Mary Bishop, the former captain of her tennis team who had graduated from PC High two years earlier. But as Sonny helped Lexi with her Physics and Jenny and Sydney tried to see who could eat the most M&Ms that they tossed into the air, Elizabeth could only think of one thing. Was it possible that Jason had lost interest in her?

* * *

The school bell rang and students flooded into the halls, ready to head out and enjoy the wonderful weather. Other students, however, had heavier footsteps as they trudged home to get in some last minute cramming for the next day's AP test.

_"'Cause I'm a train wreck waiting to happen," _Petey sang off-key as she pulled her History notebook out of her locker and shut the door. _"Waiting for someone to come lift me up off the tracks. A wildfire born of frustration…"_

Her gaze fell upon the troubled brunette crouched on the floor next to her.

"Beth, you're not singing."

The girl shrugged. "I'm just not in a singing mood today," was all she said in return.

Lauren furrowed her brown – Elizabeth was _always_ in a singing mood; it was their tradition. She shut her locker and waited as Elizabeth slowly pulled herself to her feet and twisted her combo lock.

Without a word, the smaller brunette led the way down the hall. Several friends yelled out to her, but her smile was tired and lacked her normal warmth.

"So…" It took Lauren a minute to come up with something to say. "You, um, ready for the Psych AP tomorrow?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

Lauren frowned at the flippant tone of her voice. "What do you mean?"

The brunette at her side shrugged again. "At this point, it's not like I'm going to pull off any miracles. I know what I know, you know?"

"I know," Lauren smirked. She glanced at Elizabeth to see if the humorous sentence structure had amused her, but it hadn't.

Brenda, Jenny, Carol and Sydney were already congregated at Sydney's locker when the girls turned the corner, and Lauren lightly punched her friend on the shoulder.

"I have to go down to the weight room, so I'll see you later," she said. "Good luck on the test, man."

"Thanks, Lauren."

The tall brunette waved to the small group and headed down the stairs, exchanging a quick high-five with Sonny as he came up to his locker.

"Hello, ladies," he greeted the girls without even looking up from his combo lock. "How goes it?"

Much to his surprise, instead of instant chatter, only a dejected silence met his ears. Sonny looked up from his lock to see Brenda staring back at him, looking less than pleased.

"Aw, hell," he muttered, leaning a hand against his open locker door. "What did I do now?"

His girlfriend smirked. "Normally, I wouldn't pass up that opportunity, but I will today: you didn't do anything."

"Well, that's always good to hear," he winked at Elizabeth. "Rare, but very good."

The brunette barely smiled in return, and that bothered him. Looking from her to Jenny to Carol, Sonny felt piteously out of the loop.

"All right, who died?"

Carol pursed her lips and looked away, which Sonny took to mean that he was an insufferable fool.

"Does someone want to tell me to what I owe all your sunny dispositions?"

Elizabeth actually smirked at that one, and was the first to speak. "Sonny, can I ask you something?"

"If it'll get everyone to go back to normal, you can ask me for the formula to the H-bomb," Sonny informed her. "God, I can't believe I just said I wanted all of you to go back to normal."

Elizabeth licked her lips and sidled up closer to him. "Have you noticed anything weird about Jason lately?"

Sonny thought carefully, his brow furrowing as he did so. "He's been kind of quiet lately," he offered. "That's about it."

Elizabeth sighed and dropped her head, and Brenda took the opportunity to clarify for her boyfriend's benefit. "We think he's avoiding Beth."

"What?" Sonny would have laughed at that, but he didn't think it would go over too well. "That's stupid – he's not avoiding her."

"Oh?" Brenda's eyebrow lifted in challenge. Damn. He hated when she did that. It always meant that he was about to be exposed for being full of #$. "OK, so when's the last time you spoke to him?"

The question forced Sonny to think back again. "Uh…Friday?"

"Exactly."

"So what? Jason and I don't have to engage in a heart-to-heart every day, you know. He's probably just busy."

"It's fine for you," Brenda shot back. "You're guys. But if he hasn't talked to his own girlfriend since Friday, I'm hoping you can see our cause for alarm."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"I think I see him coming," Carol spoke up. "Now's your chance, Beth – corner him."

"Or not," Elizabeth shrugged. "Let's just see what happens if…" She glanced over her shoulder to see if he was in view, then arranged the girls in a semi-circle by the lockers. She herself made sure to stand in front of them, almost in the middle of the hallway. This way, she figured it would be impossible for Jason to just breeze by without noticing her. And this way, she'd have her answer.

Sonny was still staring at her in confusion, clearly not understanding the intricacies of the games that girls played with their male counterparts. But one quick glare from the brunette that came up only to his shoulder had him snapping around and pretending to forage through his locker as his best friend hobbled into view.

"So I was like, 'Well, you could have at least told me if you dated someone that went to my school'," Carol started, hoping that the conversation seemed casual enough as Jason loped into earshot. "But then it turns out that they didn't just date – oh, no. Get this – they were going steady for about eighteen months."

"Holy crap," Jenny whistled, taking great care not to glance in Jason's direction. "That's a long time. So? What'd you say?"

"What _could_ I say?" Carol glowered. "I just walked away after that." Elizabeth watched as the blonde bristled. "Mary was such a bitch."

"You know," she began, catching Jason in her peripheral vision. "I didn't know Mary that well. I'd see her in the hallways sometimes and at parties, but that was it. What was she like?"

"She was a total priss," Brenda supplied, inwardly pleased that Sonny was keeping up the charade of searching through his locker for some nonexistent notebook. There was hope for the boy yet. "She definitely had to be one of the most conceited girls I knew."

"I second that," Sydney agreed. "She was a total snob, and really rude to the younger classes."

"Plus, she was a whore," Carol added, probably more for her own benefit than that of the truth. "She went after literally any guy she wanted, no matter if he was attached or not."

Brenda watched Jason pause mid-step as he passed behind Elizabeth. But then the blonde continued walking, and both she and Sonny cringed when they saw the look on Elizabeth's face.

"Well," the petite brunette sighed, running a hand through her dark hair. "I can't say I'm surprised."


	20. So Far Away

**So Far Away**

_This takes place on Tuesday, May 18. Keep in mind that Prom is on the _

It was first hour and Mr. Cameron was teaching the lesson on El Greco and Francisco de Goya entirely in Spanish.

But Sonny didn't hear that El Greco specialized in religious paintings in which all the subjects were lean and elongated; that fumes from the paint drove Goya slowly insane until he began painting macabre works at the end of his long life.

The Cuban's eyes strayed toward the clock. Elizabeth had already been taking her Psychology AP exam for an hour. He himself was supposed to take it, but then it turned out that even a perfect score wouldn't get him out of a core Psychology requirement at NYU, so there was really no point.

_"Preguntas?" _Mr. Cameron looked around the room to see if the children had any questions, and Sonny made an attempt to look like he had been paying attention. The teacher turned back to his slideshow and Sonny went back to mulling over his latest problem.

Elizabeth and the girls were convinced that Jason was ignoring her. Avoiding her. And what Sonny didn't understand was why his best friend would do that. It had to be a misunderstanding. After all, maybe Jason had just been in a bad mood and wanted to be alone for a while.

Sonny knew both Elizabeth and Jason very well, and he knew that while Jason was pretty reserved when it came to his feelings, Elizabeth was very open. Maybe Jason had just wanted to deal with whatever was bugging him on his own without having Elizabeth drag it into some huge ordeal fit for Montel Williams. Maybe they were all just making a mountain out of a molehill. After all, wasn't that what they, as high schoolers and especially as seniors, specialized in?

Yes, Sonny nodded to himself. That had to be it. And he'd be willing to bet that come Calculus – which was the only class that all three of them had together all day – Jason Morgan would be back to his normal, carefree self.

* * *

"What the hell is the Young-Hermholtz theory?" Emily Bowen demanded as the small group walked up the stairs from the basement to the main floor. The AP Psychology exam had just ended in time for period six-seven, which meant they all had to attend their next class before breaking for lunch.

Many students had just decided to ditch the next period and take an extra-long lunch, returning only for periods nine and ten. Others had just left entirely.

Still, she, Elizabeth, Jenny, Petey, Carol, and a couple of their other friends had decided to stay and were now trudging wearily on to their next class.

"I didn't get that either," Lisa Kelling announced, flipping her black hair over her shoulders. "I don't remember going over it, do you?"

Carol shook her head. "But then again, that's not saying much. With Purdy as a teacher, we didn't 'go over' most of the book."

"True," Jenny sighed. "That woman has no business being a teacher if she can't even teach us what the Young-Hermholtz thing was. From the way the question was phrased, it sounded like an important theory."

Lauren dragged a hand through her long, tangled brown locks. "Does it have something to do with the ear?" she asked. "Like, was it one of those early theories explaining how we perceived sound or something?"

"I don't think so," Emily replied slowly. "But I still can't figure out what it was supposed to be."

"It was the theory explaining the trichotomy of colors in regards to visual perception," Elizabeth mumbled for the first time.

There was a brief silence. "Oh," Carol got out. "OK."

The group shuffled down the hallway, not too eager to return to class, and Elizabeth remained silent. She never really minded school before – never minded the million and one different things demanding her attention at any given point in time, the hustle and bustle in the hallways, the ridiculous amount of work her teachers assigned. But today, she was just tired of it all. All she wanted to do was go home and collapse on her bed and not get up for a week.

Damn Jason.

* * *

"Hey, guys." Mr. Alcazar's greeting lacked its usual warmth and the accompanying smile everyone was used to as Lisa Kelling and Elizabeth trudged in.

They nodded at the Czar and slumped into their seats, and the teacher continued explaining the problem he had started five minutes earlier at the beginning of class.

"They're going to hit you with a lot of these on the day after tomorrow," he informed his weary students. "I can tell you that right now. The trick is not to freak out and to try to figure out how you can rearrange the problem to look easier."

He added a few parentheses and used a few substitutions, and in a few seconds the problem was easily recognizable to the students that were furiously trying to absorb as much knowledge as they possibly could before the exam in two days.

"That's the summation formula," Luke spoke up, quickly jotting down the problem in his notebook.

"And that goes back to the slope thing," Marcus quipped, staring hard at his teacher's writing. "Can't you just take the limit and be done with it?"

"It looks that way," Mr. Alcazar nodded. "And you're close, but not quite."

"Substitution!" Ryan burst out from the back of the room. "Substitute log base two of x for the square root of y-"

"And _then_ take the limit," Charlie instructed confidently. "There you go – that was easy!"

"Exactly!" Mr. Alcazar beamed. "Did everyone see how we did that? Taggert?"

The boy squinted at the board for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, I get it."

"Good." Mr. Alcazar looked out at the rest of the class. "Any more questions you guys need to get a handle on?"

"Can we do some more Riemann sums?" Sonny asked. "Pick a really hard one."

"OK, OK," their teacher nodded, picking up his teachers' workbook and scribbling out an elaborate diagram on the board.

Elizabeth sighed and began copying the problem down half-heartedly in her almost full notebook. She was so not in the mood to study Calculus, especially after just getting out of that Psychology exam. It had been stupid to show up – she should have just ditched.

Sonny slid her a sidelong glance and then glanced at Jason, who sat next to him with a permanent scowl on his face as his pencil scratched furiously on his notebook. With a sigh, Sonny shifted in his chair, hoping to attract Elizabeth's attention.

She looked up when his chair creaked, and he quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Hey."

A corner of her mouth curved up, but her half-smile was tired and coldly pleasant. "Hey."

"How was Psych?"

"Not too bad. I'm expecting a four."

"Huh. Not bad at all."

"Yeah." She dropped her gaze to her notebook again, already drawing the rectangles that would be used in the summation formula to determine slope.

Sonny shifted uncomfortably. "Hey, you okay?"

She looked up at him in surprise and he saw her dart a quick glance at Jason to see if he had heard or not. Seeing that Jason remained staring stoically ahead at the board, Elizabeth nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"Beth…"

"Seriously, Sonny." Her blue eyes sparked dangerously. "Let it go, okay?"

"I can't," he hissed back.

"Alright, Michael, you got more important things on your hands than doing Riemanns?" Mr. Alcazar demanded, placing both hands on his hips. The fact that he used the boy's actual name instead of his class nickname, Clyde, was a dead-giveaway to the fact that he was in no mood for games. "You asked for this example, you know."

"Sorry, Mr. Alcazar," Sonny apologized, also forgoing the usual title of _Czar_. "I'm paying attention."

Jason glanced at his friend but Sonny had his head bent studiously over his own notebook. With a roll of his eyes, Jason leaned back in his seat and resumed scowling at the ceiling.

"All right." Mr. Alcazar surveyed his problem, satisfied. "So we've got the data values, but there's a problem: there's no way to get _n_. Elizabeth, what do we do?"

The brunette looked up from her notebook and propped her cheek in her small hand. "I don't know," she shrugged.

Mr. Alcazar, along with everyone else in the class, stared at her in surprise.

"Sure you do," her teacher assured her, his smile laced with confusion. "What do we do?"

She shrugged again, her eyes bored and disinterested. "Mm."

Lorenzo pursed his lips, his hands finding their way to his hips once more. There was a long pause, and no one moved until he spoke again. "Guys, this exam is in two days." Their teacher's voice was stern and drawn. "_Two days. _You've worked hard all year long – don't throw it away when we're right in the homestretch."

He spun around and lifted the chalk to the board. "OK, now, someone tell me, what do we do?"

"Rewrite the formula," Ryan spoke up, trying to save face on Elizabeth's behalf. He glanced curiously at his friend as Mr. Alcazar began scribbling, but Elizabeth's dark blue eyes were trained on her notebook once again.

Sonny glanced at her and frowned.

It seemed as if the whole situation wasn't a misunderstanding after all.

The class dragged on as Mr. Alcazar answered all the questions his students hurled at him. He filled up all four long boards with work, and erased all of it only to fill it up again.

For the first time in the year, Marcus didn't leave early. He even stayed a few minutes late, finishing copying down the last problem.

Luke didn't even have any quick quip as he sauntered toward the door, his graphing calculator tucked in the pocket of his cargo pants. He lifted a hand at his teacher and slipped out the door, tired and ready to eat.

The rest of the students remained in their seats, either copying down the work or musing over it. Ryan and Charlie were working on a problem together, and Lisa was listening to them intently. Elizabeth and Sonny were still copying down something in their notebooks, and Mr. Alcazar noticed Sonny's lips moving discreetly, saying something softly to the brunette.

Jason, on the other hand, slapped his notebook shut and rose abruptly from his seat, managing his crutches expertly and practically fleeing the room. Lorenzo's eyebrows furrowed – that was strange. Normally, Jason wouldn't leave until Elizabeth had finished whatever it was she was doing, even if it meant that they were late for lunch – a senior's worst nightmare.

A sour expression had claimed Elizabeth's mouth as she got up from her own seat and tucked her pencil into the spirals of her notebook. She glanced around at all the boards, making sure that she had copied down everything, before striding for the door. She was out and already on the stairs before Lorenzo even had time to call out goodbye.

The Spaniard frowned again. Something was definitely going on. Elizabeth _always_ stopped to talk to him after class, and he had been expecting her to fill him in on her trials and tribulations while facing the dreaded Psychology exam. She _always_ took the time to fill him in. But today she had fled as if the seat of her pants were on fire.

His black eyes fell on an exceptionally weary-looking Sonny Corinthos as the boy stood and adjusted his backpack over his shoulders. The boy nodded to his teacher once in goodbye and shuffled to the door.

"Hey." Sonny turned around at his teacher's voice and saw Mr. Alcazar tip his head toward the door. "What's up with those two?"

The boy chuckled, but the sound lacked all humor. "That's the million-dollar question, Czar," was all he said as he stepped into the hall. "And I wish I knew the answer."

* * *

Elizabeth's downtrodden mood must have been contagious, because even Petey couldn't bring herself to sing as they both pulled out their books and lunches. The tiny brunette was crouched on the floor by Lauren's feet, engaged in her daily battle with an overstuffed locker.

"I swear, I think there's something living in here," Elizabeth muttered, trying with all her might to pull out a notebook. "It nearly took my finger off."

Lauren smirked and bent to help her friend. With a good tug, they both managed to pull the notebook free.

"Petey, Beth." Sonny shuffled down the hall toward them. "Hey."

"Yo, Corinthos." Lauren straightened her Peter Frampton cutout and pulled out her copy of _Pride and Prejudice_ for study hall. "What's shaking?"

The boy shrugged. "Nothing much. How'd you think you did on Psych?"

Lauren zipped up her backpack and pulled it on. "Not bad. Multiple choice was okay, but I bombed one essay."

"That's usually not so bad," Elizabeth spoke up from her seat on the floor. The brunette didn't look up from her locker as she continued. "On Bio last year, I was sure I messed up on the multiple choice – I didn't even finish it – and one of my essays was completely wrong while another was about half-wrong. I still got a four." She nodded once and picked up her Lone Ranger lunchbox. "Watch – you may surprise yourself. Often, if you do even marginally well on multiple choice, bombing an essay question won't hurt you."

"Huh." Lauren perked up noticeably at the news. "Well, okay, then. That makes me feel a bit better." She patted her friend on the shoulder and awarded Sonny with a punch on his. "I'll see you cats later – I have to run to Guidance."

"Later, Petey," both Sonny and Elizabeth replied in unison.

Sonny waited until Elizabeth zipped up her bag and then offered his hand, helping her to her feet. "Look, we have to talk."

"About?" Elizabeth purred smoothly, brushing her hair from her face and crossing her arms over her chest as they walked.

Sonny knew she was just trying to play down the situation, and she didn't fool him for a minute with her act of indifference. "I'm sorry that Jason's being an ass."

The corner of her mouth quirked up. "Sonny, you don't have to apologize. This has nothing to do with you."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know – he's my best friend. And you're a really good friend of mine, too, Beth." His eyes were sincere as they sought hers. "I just hate the thought of him hurting you."

She didn't say anything and looked away, and Sonny took the opportunity to continue. "Remember back when you first started…hanging out? Right before we all went to Clover together?"

Elizabeth pursed her lips at the memory of that all-too-perfect trip.

"I remember telling Brenda the same thing," Sonny confessed. "Beth, I've known Jason my whole life – we live a few houses apart and have been best friends since preschool. I know…I know what he's like. He's a great guy, don't get me wrong, but he has his flaws. Do you know that you were the first girl he was ever serious about?"

"Why are you telling me this, Sonny?" she demanded, whirling around to face him. They were stopped by the stairs, partially hidden from view by the walls of the stairwell, but they still attracted a few glances from nearby students at their lockers.

"Because…I don't know," the boy got out, running a hand through his dark curls. "He's always just done what he's wanted as far as girls were concerned, you know? He never dated any girls from PC High – they were always from Llanview or Pinebrook or Cedar Grove. Lots of them were in college."

Elizabeth stared at him, giving him the clear message that she didn't need to know any more about Jason's past trysts.

But Sonny wouldn't be deterred. He had a point, he was certain of it. He just had to find it.

"He always called the shots, you know? I know it sounds kind of…misogynistic or whatever, but he always played by his own rules. If he wanted to go out with a certain girl, he went for it right then and there. He didn't take no for an answer, and he got what he wanted. If he got tired of a girl, he'd break things off without a second thought. If-"

"Sonny." Elizabeth's voice was tired as she shook her head and turned away, ready to step back into the hallway. "It doesn't matter – I don't need to hear this."

Sonny was faster, and he leapt forward and grabbed her elbow. "But don't you see, Beth?" he pressed. "You were different."

She huffed and rolled her eyes. "Not different enough."

Sonny sighed and pulled her forcefully back into the stairwell. "Look, just hear me out, okay?"

"Sonny, we're late for lunch-" she tried, attempting to stave off this conversation.

"The hell with lunch!" he hissed, attracting the confused glares of Brendan and Jenny as they walked down the hallway together. "Just listen to me."

"You have one minute," she informed him, checking her watch. "Go."

"You were different," he repeated. "You were different in every way."

"How so?"

Sonny licked his lips. "Jason never knew what to do when he was around you. He never knew what to try in order to get you to notice him – the smart routine, the jock routine; he just didn't know. You made him nervous at first – for the first time, he wasn't as sure of himself. It took him forever to work up the courage to start something, you know."

Elizabeth sniffed delicately and glanced pointedly at her watch.

"It was really weird watching him, and I'm saying that as his best friend. I have never seen him as hung up over a girl before. Usually, no one girl had ever taken his attention away from everything else he was doing. But again, you were different. He'd zone out while we were running, he'd be too caught up with thinking about you to pay attention all the time in class. Do you know that he even started taking the long way to his classes just so he'd see you in the hall along the way?"

He could see that he had made some ground, so he continued quickly. "It took him forever to work up the nerve to kiss you. Call me a pig, but I told him to go for it," Sonny admitted with a smirk.

"Pig," Elizabeth mumbled, rolling her eyes with a ghost of smile on her face.

"But he didn't because he was so afraid of scaring you away. You weren't like any of the other girls he was used to, Beth. You always had a quick quip on hand when he was full of #$, and at the same time you weren't afraid or reluctant to offer him support when he needed it. Do you know how much it meant to him when you told him before the state conferences that you thought he was good enough?"

Elizabeth lowered her gaze and nibbled on her bottom lip.

"Do you know how weird it is that he hasn't…you know…slept with you?"

The brunette's dark blue eyes snapped up to meet his, blazing with disbelief. "_What_ did you just say?" she demanded, dropping her books on the floor and pushing Sonny back against the railing by the stairs.

The Cuban squirmed, trying to avoid her punches. Finally, he just grabbed her small hands in his and held them away from himself. "Look-"

"I can't believe you just _said_ that!" she seethed, her nostrils flaring and a pink blush already blooming in her cheeks. "I'm going to-"

"Look, that's how Jason is!" he tried to explain, struggling to contain her fists. "I'm sorry to be so blunt, but that's how he is. What did you think I meant when I said that when he wants something, he gets it?"

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes lethally at him and wrenched her hands free, crossing them over her chest as she continued to glare at him.

"But that's my point. He hasn't put any pressure on you at all for that. And why do you think that is?"

He waited, but instead of answering, Elizabeth just averted her gaze.

"It's because you mean more to him than that, Beth. You know it's true."

"What's the point of this whole tribute, Sonny?" she interrupted testily. "What are you trying to say here?"

He cleared his throat and straightened the shirt she had wrinkled during their brief bout. "I'm just saying that there's got to be more to this than we know. You say he's avoiding you, fine," he shrugged, "but I don't think that means that he's lost interest or whatever Carol was saying."

"Sonny-"

"There's more to this than meets the eye," he reminded her gently. "There's a difference between what we think is going on and what _is_ real."

She was looking down at her fingers now and Sonny waited, but she didn't say anything.

"Beth? What did I just say?" he tested, trying to see if she had really been paying attention or had just been humoring him.

"Something about Israel?"

Her smirk had him laughing instantly, and he was glad that she was at least in the mood to crack a joke, however lame.

"Seriously," he began, his voice softer now. "Let's find out what's going on first, okay? Can we do that?"

She shrugged. "I don't know," she replied honestly. "Because to tell you the truth, Sonny, I just want this whole thing to go away. I want everything to go back to the way it was, or I want it to fast forward to what it will be when this is ironed out. I just don't want to deal with it."

"Beth-"

"No, Sonny," she cut him off, and he could see the anger beginning to flare up in her dark topaz eyes. "I'm sick of this already. I didn't even _do_ anything. If I had pissed him off in some way, I could understand, but I didn't do _anything_."

"I know, I know-"

"And all of a sudden he's pissed off about some nondescript thing and he takes it out on me?" she demanded, jabbing a finger to her chest. "Forget it – no. He can just be an ass for as long as he wants because – because…" She had to pause as her voice wobbled, and Sonny thought he saw tears in her eyes. "Because I hate being jerked around like this. I hate being made to feel that I don't matter. So until he's ready to start acting like a normal person again – I-I don't know. Whatever."

With that, she turned around and walked away, leaving Sonny standing alone in the stairwell.

* * *

The warm breeze ruffled through Brenda's dark hair as she nibbled on a graham cracker. It was a gorgeous day and the sun was out in full force, bathing the courtyard in front of the theatre in radiant golden light.

Her boyfriend's disposition, however, was far from sunny.

Sonny sat next to her, angrily chomping on his turkey sandwich and glowering at the blades of grass that dared wave in the breeze. Brenda's hand absently stroked his forearm, but even that familiar gesture did little to calm him down.

"Shitpot," he muttered around a mouthful of turkey. "I oughta kick his ass. I would, too, if he wasn't a cripple."

And that, Brenda knew, was one of the big differences between her and Sonny. They both handled their anger in extremely different ways. When she was angry, she had to force herself to admit that she got sneaky. She'd think carefully about her problem and then conjure up some course of action that seemed appropriate.

Sonny, on the other hand, was like a hurricane when he got angry – things went flying all over the place as he blazed through, and he was done as quickly as he had begun.

"I know you're angry, Sonny, but going up to him and picking a fight won't solve anything."

Sonny stopped chewing and looked directly at her. "She was _crying_, Bren."

His girlfriend nodded. "But picking a fight won't make her feel better."

"It'd make _me_ feel better," he mumbled, getting back to his sandwich. "Do you remember what I told you about them when we were in Clover?"

"That even though you liked that your best friend was dating your almost-best-friend, you were afraid he'd hurt her," Brenda replied quietly, her hand rubbing long, soothing strokes up and down his arm as she leaned her chin on his shoulder.

"_And, _" he added pointedly, "that I wouldn't be above hurting him if he made her cry."

* * *

Elizabeth was leaning against Sydney's locker and listening to the brunette chatter on about her idea for her end-of-the-year English project. She knew that the girl was just trying to alleviate some of the tension that hung thick around their circle of friends, and she was glad for the efforts.

"So, I just took this class on how to make claymation movies, right?" she said excitedly. "So it occurred to me – why not take a canto from the _Divine Comedy_ and turn it into a claymation movie?"

"Sounds like a good idea, Syd," Elizabeth agreed wearily. "That'd be pretty cool."

Sydney continued to prattle on about what canto she wanted to use and how she'd make Virgil and Dante when Carol and Emily sauntered up to them.

"Hey, girlies," Emily smiled. "Man, I'm ready to go home and get some sleep. I haven't done anything but study Psych for the last two days – I'm beat."

"Me, too," Carol agreed. "I'm glad I don't have any more to take."

"Lucky ducks," Sydney growled, zipping up her backpack. "Beth and I have English tomorrow."

"And Beth and _I_ have Calc on Thursday," Lisa Kelling pointed out as she joined the group. Lexi, Jenny and Brenda soon joined the group and the girls chattered for a few minutes. Jenny waited until all the girls were otherwise engaged in conversation before sidling closer to Elizabeth.

"Beth," she whispered, her eyes grave when her friend turned to face her. "I've…I talked to Brendan about Jason."

At the sound of Elizabeth's boyfriend, all girls immediately stopped talking and turned toward Jenny.

"Geez!" the redhead exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "You guys can't hear what the homework is but you can hear me say _Jason_?"

"Yeah, yeah, Evrard," Carol said, waving her hand in the air. "Jokes later – news now."

"Yeah," Lexi nodded. "Did Brendan tell you what crawled up Jason's ass and died?"

The girls are whirled around to face the younger brunette, surprised to hear the studious junior swear.

"What?" she shrugged. "I think he's a dog."

"Well," Jenny started once all eyes were back on her. "I asked him if he knew what was up with Jason, and he said he had no clue."

Elizabeth nodded, urging her to continue.

"He just said that he knew that he was pissed off about _something_, but as far as he could tell, no one knew what the _something_ was except Jason." The redhead averted her gaze and twiddled her thumbs before the next part. "But he did tell me…"

Brenda couldn't take it anymore. "What, Jenny? Spit it out!"

"Jason was drinking with Luke and Taggert on Friday and maybe over the weekend, too," Jenny blurted, finally daring a to dart a glance at Elizabeth. "I'm sorry, I just didn't know how else to say it."

Elizabeth's jaw was agape. "_Drinking? _" she repeated in shock. "That – that can't be right. Jason would never drink."

Brenda, too, was having an equally hard time absorbing the information. "She's right – both Jason and Sonny feel the same way about drinking; and _we_ should know."

Jenny shrugged. "That's what the word is," she explained. "Jason apparently went over to Luke's on Friday and the three of them hung out in his basement and got drunk."

Elizabeth leaned back against the lockers, her hand over her mouth as she thought. "But _why_ – that's the real question." Her confused eyes met Brenda's, and her best friend looked away in embarrassment. "Why would he – what would propel him to go out and get _wasted_? He's totally against that."

"Wish I knew," Carol muttered. "Damn it. This whole thing makes no sense!"

They stood in silence before Lexi shyly admitted that she was late for Orchestra and had to run. Elizabeth shooed her on and the other girls soon followed, each of them offering the brunette a comforting squeeze on the shoulder and directing a curse on her Golden Boy.

Only Brenda and Elizabeth remained, and Sonny quirked an eyebrow at them as he walked up the stairs to his locker nearby.

"Ladies," he smiled pleasantly, but Brenda could see that he was still angry about what had happened earlier. "How goes it?"

"Fine," Elizabeth smiled back, still thinking about what Jenny had told her. "Ready for English tomorrow?"

"Oh, yeah," the dark-haired boy nodded. "English isn't going to be a problem. I'm going to go home and hit the Calc hard instead."

"Me, too."

"I have to go to the bathroom," Brenda announced, setting her bag on the floor and punching her boyfriend on the shoulder. "You wanna give me a ride home today?"

He nodded immediately. "Sure. Can we leave now – as soon as you get back? I really want to get home and study."

"Sure," she smiled at the both of them as she walked backward to the girls room. "Give me a minute."

No sooner had she disappeared than Jason loped into view. He seemed at ease on his crutches now, and his movement suggested that his strength was returning. Sonny frowned when he saw that his best friend's eyes were trained on the ground.

His frown only grew darker when Jason passed the two of them without a glance and continued to the stairwell.

Next to him, Elizabeth huffed in disbelief and grabbed her backpack from the floor, slipping it on in one fluid motion. She had told herself that once he showed face she'd confront him, but that idea had vanished. She was so sure that she could face him and let him know that she knew he was acting different and that he'd better tell her the truth. But suddenly, she just didn't feel up to it.

"Later, Sonny." Even though she only spoke two words to him, Sonny could hear her voice wobble, and his eyes narrowed as he watched her slender form half-trot down the hall to the stairs on the opposite end.

With a low growl, Sonny slung his own backpack on the floor and pushed past Johnny, Ryan, and Charlie who were standing by the drinking fountain. Jason was nearing the end of the lockers when Sonny caught up to him.

"Morgan."

He stopped but didn't turn around, and Sonny angrily stalked forward to stand in front of him. Jason stared at him, his mouth set, and was surprised when Sonny abruptly shoved him back.

"You want to tell me what the hell your problem is?" Sonny demanded, shoving him again.

That was all it took for Jason to remove his hands from the crutches and hold his best friend off. "Now, I _know_ you didn't just push me, Corinthos."

"Oh?" the boy challenged. He claimed another step and shoved Jason harder, and this time all the students in the hall heard Jason's back clang against the lockers. "What do you call that, then?"

The blonde had had enough at that point, and let the crutches fall completely. As far as he was concerned, they were a formality now anyway – he had experimented and found that he could walk fine without them for at least a short distance.

Nostrils flaring and cerulean eyes blazing, Jason pushed himself away from the lockers and landed a punch square in Sonny's gut. The boy grunted and then fought back, and pretty soon the sounds of their brawl had attracted the attention of everyone in the hallway.

"#$," Brendan muttered to himself, switching his Chemistry book to the other hand. Without waiting to see who bled first, the slim editor turned on the heel of his black tennis shoes and raced off down the hall.

"Pansy," Sonny got out through gritted teeth as Jason wrestled him to the ground. "I'll kick your motherfucking ass, you son of a-"

"Tough words," Jason growled back as he pinned Sonny down. "Too bad you don't have a prayer." The dark-hair boy executed a swift jab of the knee to Jason's side and the tables turned, this time with Sonny winning.

Brendan came bursting back just then with Mr. Lewis and Mr. Alcazar in tow. The two men lost no time in jumping into the middle of the melee and fairly wrenching the two boys apart.

"Woah there!" Mr. Lewis cried, wrapping an arm around Sonny's chest and pulling him back forcefully.

Brenda chose that moment to step out of the girls room, and her wide brown eyes took in the confusion. "What the heck happened?" she demanded, turning on poor Johnny who happened to be standing the closest. He shrugged helplessly, unable to explain because he himself didn't understand.

"Hey!" Mr. Alcazar latched onto an irate Jason and struggled to hold him in place as Mr. Lewis did the same. "Corinthos! Morgan!" The boys stared angrily back at him, and for a moment, confusion took over and prevented the math teacher from forming a coherent thought. "You boys know you were fighting each other?"

Charlie couldn't help smirk, but swallowed it as soon as Brenda turned a murderous glare on him. With a sigh, she stepped forward and up to Sonny's side, managing to convince the Spanish teacher that he wouldn't attack anyone if he let him go.

"What's going on?" Mr. Alcazar demanded. "I'm asking all of you," he added, looking at all the students in the hall in turn. "Does someone want to tell me what the hell just happened? What about you two?"

"Nothing," both Sonny and Jason responded in unison. Sonny scowled at Jason as the boy bent to retrieve his backpack. Mr. Alcazar offered him his crutches and Jason accepted them, but didn't use them.

"Lorenzo." Mr. Lewis' expression was grave. "Should we take them down to the dean? It's your call."

Brenda grabbed Sonny's hand, tucking her hair nervously behind her ear. "Please don't, Mr. Alcazar – it won't happen again."

"Is that true?" the teacher asked his too students. The boys didn't reply and didn't even look at each other. "Look, I know you kids get into fights and want to let off some steam, but for God's sake, don't do it on campus. Too many people are liable here. Try to find a better way to solve your arguments."

He glanced at both of his Calculus students and sighed. "Mr. Lewis, I say we let these boys get on home."

The Spanish teacher clapped his student on the back, but his gaze was still stern. Sonny had been in his charge for a while and he knew the boy well. Jason, on the other hand, had never been in his class but from what he knew the two boys were very good friends so that had to be some reflection of the other boy's personality. From what he could judge, both boys had just snapped over something, and he hoped that Brenda was right when she said that it wouldn't happen again.

"All right."

Brenda sighed in relief and tugged on Sonny's hand, wanting to get him as far away from Jason at the moment as she could. Sonny resisted, his face still set and hard, but another good tug from his girlfriend had him following her to the stairwell.

Mr. Alcazar reached out to help Jason but the boy shrugged off his help and shuffled back around the corner, not using his crutches. The rest of the students cleared the hallway rapidly, and pretty soon only Lorenzo and Cameron were left.

Cameron rubbed a hand over his mouth. "Goodness."

Lorenzo chuckled dryly. "You can say that again." He shook his head, leaning a shoulder against the lockers. "I don't know what got into those boys," he admitted. "And no one seems to want to say anything. I've seen it growing over the period of a few days but-"

"You've noticed, too?" Cameron inquired, stroking his beard with interest. "Well, then."

"What do you mean? What have you seen?"

"Nothing significant, to be quite honest," the Spanish teacher responded. "But I've noticed that Elizabeth's been rather crestfallen lately, and Michael always seems to be doing his best to cheer her up. Why? What have _you_ seen?"

"I have all three of them in my six-seventh hour Calculus class." Lorenzo leaned back fully against the beige lockers and crossed his legs at the ankle. "The three of them haven't spoken a word to each other since Friday, and Jason always leaves as soon as class is over. He used to wait for Elizabeth. And today, she didn't stay after class to tell me about her Psychology exam – she just left. And when I asked Sonny about it, he didn't offer much in the way of an answer."

"I don't like what's going on with these kids," Cameron sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "From what I know of Jason and Sonny, they've been friends since they were very young. It would be a shame for their friendship to dissolve right before they leave for different schools. And Elizabeth…I have never seen her upset in the three years that she's been here. It's so strange to see her this way."

Lorenzo nodded. "I hope this blows over. After all, they're just kids. I guess that's just what happens senior year – every child gets caught up in this whirlwind of drama and emotion. I hope they don't do anything they end up regretting."

Cameron grunted in agreement and shuffled his feet. "Do you think we did right – sending them home, that is?"

Lorenzo thought about it for a moment. "I sure hope so. They're good kids – I hope they make an effort to steer clear of each other if they persist with this argument."

The Spanish teacher nodded. "Yes, well. If you'll excuse me, Enzo, I should be returning to my classroom. I have some AP students waiting for extra help-"

"Oh, please," Lorenzo waved him on. "Go. Don't let me keep you from them. Thanks for your help."

Cameron offered him a tight-lipped smile and disappeared slowly around the corner. Lorenzo sighed and leaned his head back against the locker, his hands deep in his pockets. He had just closed his eyes when he heard quiet rustling nearby.

Opening his eyes, Lorenzo was surprised to see Elizabeth standing a few paces before him, her eyes tired and defeated.

"E-Elizabeth," he stammered. "What- How long have you been here? What are you doing back?"

She licked her lips and tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear, and one look in her eyes told Mr. Alcazar that she had seen the whole altercation. "I left my lunchbox."

Mr. Alcazar looked around and sure enough, there was her lunchbox on the floor near his feet. He picked it up by the hot pink handle and held it out to her. She accepted it solemnly and took a small step back.

"Elizabeth-"

"Thanks, Czar," was all she said in reply. "See you in class tomorrow."


	21. Strong Enough To Break

**Strong Enough To Break**

_This takes place on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, May 18, 19, 20, and 21 respectively. Remember that Tuesday the 18th was the day that Sonny attacked Jason. _

The house was empty when Jason shuffled in. AJ was at one of his friends' house probably playing video games and eating PB&J sandwiches, and his parents were at the hospital as always.

And that meant that Jason had the house to himself. He dropped the keys on the counter and ran a hand through his hair, wondering what to do next.

The first thing was to turn on the television – the noise from the tube helped drown out the noise in his head.

But even Topher Grace's energetic babbling didn't put an end to the whirlwind of thoughts tumbling through Jason's head. They were racing – each one trying to arrive at the forefront of his consciousness before the next. Anger, guilt, remorse, pain, all jumbled together in a mesh of emotion, each trying to outdo the other but at the same time enhancing the other.

His jaw still stung from where Sonny had punched him, and he was sure he'd have bruises tomorrow where his best friend had kicked him.

He put the volume up, but it didn't seem to do the trick. His grandmother had an appointment at the hospital and naturally his grandfather was with her, so he could actually put it up as high as he wanted. It was just too bad that it didn't matter.

Jason slumped down at the kitchen table. He hadn't used his crutches since after school and although his legs didn't hurt, he still felt weary. His ear met the table and he skimmed his fingers lightly over the polished wood.

He wouldn't soon forget the look on Sonny's face when he had stopped him. But even more indelible was the sound of pained disbelief he had heard escape from Elizabeth's mouth a moment after he passed her by.

Jason groaned loudly and stood up from the table, wrenching the refrigerator door open in search of something to eat. The only thing he found was leftover ravioli, so he popped the container in the microwave and set it for two minutes.

The phone rang and Jason sighed, trying to decide whether or not to get it. It might be Elizabeth – he just wasn't ready to face her yet.

But granted, after what had happened earlier, he doubted she'd call. And so with heavy heart and furrowed brow, Jason shuffled slowly toward the cordless phone holder and picked it up.

"Hello?"

_"Jason! You're home!" _

"Yeah, Mom."

_"Just called to say that an emergency meeting came up, so your father and I will be late. Don't wait up for us, dear – there's food in the fridge so just warm up dinner for yourself, okay? We'll pick up AJ on our way home." _

"OK, Mom."

_"And Jason?" _

"Yeah?"

_"In case we don't see you until tomorrow, good luck on Chemistry and Calculus, sweetheart." _

"Thanks, Mom."

_"All right. Bye, now." _

"Bye."

He hung up and sighed. The microwave beeped and Jason grabbed his Chemistry book from his backpack and set it on the kitchen table before pulling out the ravioli and a fork. For the next couple hours, he sat at the kitchen table and pored over his notes for the AP the next day. After a while of not using his crutches, it felt good to put his feet up again.

Night came before he knew it and when he glanced at the clock and say that it was almost ten, Jason finally put his books away. He felt he had a pretty good handle on everything they'd covered in Chemistry, and was glad to get the book out of his sight. Even after almost six hours of staring at the text, Jason still had to admit that it didn't hold his complete focus. Even as he brushed up on his stoichiometry and theory of equilibrium, his thoughts had been elsewhere.

It was just so hard to study about a bunch of minerals when there were so much more important things going on his life.

* * *

Jason Morgan did something the next morning that he didn't ever do – he ignored his alarm clock.

The beeper kept buzzing and buzzing, but it still failed to rouse him from his comatose stupor. Finally, his grandfather who always managed to be up with the birds banged on the door, and a drowsy Jason bolted in horror when he saw he was terribly late.

There was no time for a shower and he decided to go to school in his pajamas – it was the end of the year and he was a senior; nobody cared. They were all doing the same thing anyway.

Edward barely had time to call out a good morning and good luck to his oldest grandson as Jason poured himself a thermos of coffee and dashed out of the front door as fast as his crutches would allow him.

Since his legs were already healing exceptionally well, Alan had agreed to let Jason start taking his Jeep to school once again. Under normal circumstances, Jason would have opted for his motorcycle – the weather was warm and bright and perfect for riding. But the bike hadn't seen much action since before he had surgery. With the crutches and his weak legs, it was obviously impossible to drive, and added to the fact that riding it always brought memories of Elizabeth to him, squealing and clinging to him as they raced the wind, Jason was not terribly upset about leaving it in the garage.

He arrived at school in record time and hobbled in and to the elevator. Glancing at the clocks – which were _always_ five minutes behind the real world – Jason saw that he had plenty of time to spare. OK, more like three minutes, but that was still something.

He stuffed his backpack into the locker and grabbed only his calculator and two mechanical pencils, not noticing how every other senior in the hallway glanced as he passed. They watched him with a mixture of awe and fear, far removed from their usually familiar and affectionate behavior in his company.

Brendan neared and was about to go to his locker but when he noticed that Jason was at his, the tall editor sidled over to his girlfriend's locker, content to while away a few minutes talking with her and a couple of her friends until Jason left. It wasn't that he himself was angry against his friend or had anything against him; it was just that Jason had really blown a fuse the day before and since Brendan didn't know what exactly had set him off, he didn't want to take any chances so soon.

Jason left his locker and limped down the stairs and onto the main level. The AP exams were always held in the basement, and he still had a way to go. The exam would be starting…now, actually. But that was okay since the first twenty minutes was just filling out the identification boxes, and he had already done that when he took his first AP the day before.

"Sorry! Excuse me! Beg pardon!"

Jason had only managed to turn slightly to see who was causing the commotion – however apologetic a commotion it was – when Elizabeth came bursting past him, her knee-length white skirt billowing as she ran. Her sky blue cardigan had slipped off her shoulders revealing a lacy pink tank top below, and her favorite pair of brown leather flip flops clapped against the tiles as she ran to her exam.

If memory served, Jason reflected, she had English today. So did Sonny.

As if on cue, Sonny came up on his left at that exact instant. His best friend didn't even spare him a second glance as he pushed roughly by, a pencil in one hand and a photocopy of Chiver's _The Swimmer_ in the other.

Jason sighed and continued his journey down the hall as Sonny disappeared from view. One elevator ride took him down to the basement and to his Chemistry exam. He was still a little jittery from the lack of breakfast and a gut full of coffee, and as Jason cracked open the booklet and began the multiple choice, the knowledge that Elizabeth was just one room down did little to calm his already frayed nerves.

* * *

"Aren't you coming to Calc, Beth?"

Elizabeth pulled her dark locks into a messy ponytail and picked up her folder, avoiding his gaze. "Not today, Sonny."

"What?" He stood waiting by the door, his hands on his hips and his pencil perched above his ear. "You're ditching?"

"Yup," she nodded, sweeping her baby pink purse up from the floor. "I'm going home."

He knew better than to argue with her, so he let it go. Going home would probably have been more beneficial anyway – Elizabeth looked haggard and drawn, and in desperate need of a nap. "I'll walk you out?"

"Won't you be late for Calc?"

He shrugged. "Czar won't care. He knows I'm ready for tomorrow, anyway."

"Sure you don't want to come with me?" she smiled, half-knowing he wouldn't take her up on it. "We could have lunch together…"

Sonny smiled. "As tempting as that sounds, I should go to class. One of us has to, I guess."

Elizabeth nodded and shot him a smile when he held the door open for her. She stepped into the bright sunlight and let it envelop her body, seeping deep within to warm her to the bone.

"Gorgeous day," Sonny stated as they walked for her car, noticing the reverent look on her face.

"Gorgeous day for a nap," she smirked. "I am _so_ beat."

They neared her Acura and Elizabeth pulled the keys from her purse. Sonny waited as she sat down and then shut the door for her. She pulled down the window and started the car, smiling up against the sun at him.

"See you tomorrow, Corinthos."

"Want me to stop by after school?" he asked. "Me, you, Bren – we could do something."

"Not study, I hope," Elizabeth laughed. "I'm so done with that."

Sonny grinned. "Me too. I'm not even going to _touch_ my book today. Maybe we can watch a movie or go to the park or something."

"OK," Elizabeth nodded, shifting into reverse. "Call me."

* * *

"Where's Beth?" Mr. Alcazar demanded, glancing around the classroom. "Is she not here today?"

"She went home," Sonny replied bluntly as he walked for his usual seat next to Jason. But one look at his best friend had him stopping in his tracks. The blonde looked up directly at him, his face stoic and his mouth set and firm. Sonny frowned and glanced at Elizabeth's seat before taking it, putting one seat between him and Jason.

"She wasn't feeling too great." Seeing the look on his teacher's face, he immediately hurried on to reassure him. "Don't worry, Czar – she's totally ready for tomorrow. If you want my honest opinion, being in class today wouldn't have helped her at all."

Mr. Alcazar shrugged. "Well, it's up to her." He opened his book and lifted it off the desk, ready to put up an example on the board. But as he glanced around the classroom at each of his students in turn, he thought better of it and set the book down for a moment.

"Kids, we're going to go off on a tangent for a minute," he said. "And no pun intended, either."

Luke smirked and leaned back wearily in his chair, waiting for his teacher to continue.

"Is there anything left that you're having trouble with? I mean, honestly?"

The students glanced around at each other, and Marcus was the first to speak up.

"Not really…"

"Anything you want me to go over? Reimann? Rolle? Mean Value Theorem? What about related rates – everyone hates those."

Sonny thought then shook his head. "I don't think so…"

Mr. Alcazar smiled softly. "I didn't either." He glanced down at his open book and flipped it shut. "Guys, I don't think I have anything left to teach you."

His eyes were smiling as he raked a gaze over his pupils. Luke was grinning and Sonny was chuckling, and even Ryan was having a hard time suppressing a smile.

"Weird, isn't it – to hear me say that?" Lorenzo grinned. "But it's true – after a whole year of lectures and theorems and exercises, there's nothing left. We've gone through it all."

He folded his thumbs into the pockets of his black dress pants and walked to the front of his desk, remaining still for a moment before leaning down on a corner of it. "Do you remember when you came in at the beginning of the year and I gave you those texts?"

"Do I!" Charlie muttered. "Worst day of the year, man."

Lorenzo smiled. "Do you all remember how you complained about how thick the book was – Taggert, weren't you the one that said you could forego your whole weight-lifting routine and get the same workout just lugging that brick to class?"

Marcus smiled. "I did."

"And now we're done with that book," Lorenzo finished. "We've gone through it from cover to cover. What once seemed daunting – even impossible – to you guys is now done and over with. That's all I wanted to say: Congratulations, gang – you did it!"

He clapped his hands together slowly, and the kids glanced around at each other hesitantly before joining in. Luke let out a whistle and pretty soon the room erupted in cheers.

"No lesson today," Mr. Alcazar called out over the din. "Study, work on something else, talk amongst yourselves – whatever."

He took his seat at his desk as the kids put their books away and watched them get out the math puzzles and brain twisters he kept in the room for them, some of them chattering excitedly and others bent over their notebooks. A soft smile claimed the Spaniard's lips. There was just something so satisfying about knowing that this was a group of students he had nurtured and guided from the beginning, only to leave them now on the final intellectual frontier where they would evaluate their own knowledge. That was what made being a teacher worth it every minute of every day.

* * *

Thursday dawned early and Jason didn't make the mistake of sleeping in again. He was showered, dressed, and at school in plenty of time for the Calculus exam. This time it was to be held in the library, and Jason limped down there ten minutes early to find his seat. He had left his crutches in Mr. Alcazar's room for the first time, determined to try to spend the entire day walking about school without them despite his teacher's protests.

He found his seat, marked alphabetically, and sat down. Sonny marched in a moment later and glanced neutrally in Jason's direction before finding his own seat on the far side of the room. There was no hatred in his glance, just indifference.

The rest of the students filtered in and Jason managed to figure out the alphabetical scheme. Dividing the alphabet in half, the proctors had arranged for the kids whose surnames began with a letter from the beginning to sit at the four-person table with one partner whose surname began with a letter somewhere in the middle of the alphabet. A with N, B with O, C with P and so on.

That was how he amused himself until the proctors filed in and announced that they'd be ready to start in a few minutes. The librarians went to close the doors before leaving when all of them heard a yell.

"Hold on!"

Lisa Kelling, who was sitting at a table near Jason with Ryan across from her and a tall piece of cardboard between them as a barrier, craned her neck toward the door. "Oh, god," she laughed, her black eyes twinkling. "It's Beth – who else?"

Sonny snickered as Elizabeth ran in, her shoulder-length hair fluttering about her shoulders and her purse clenched in one hand, her calculator and pencils in the other.

"Oversleep again, Beth?" he teased from across the room as she walked up to the proctor. She spared him a quick glare as she fixed the strap of her lacy crimson tank top and pulled her white sweater in place. She wore the same white skirt from the day before, as well as her omni-present brown leather flip-flops and an ankle bracelet made of seashells.

The proctor smiled and pointed in the direction of her seat, and Elizabeth smiled gratefully back and slipped her baby pink purse on correctly, fingering the strap as she walked. Charlie said something to her under his breath as she passed, and Jason watched as she gasped, trying her best to suppress a grin, and punched him on the shoulder. The boy chuckled and turned around in his chair and Elizabeth rolled her eyes and continued looking for her seat.

Her eyes fell on Jason and he could read the _"Oh, crap" _written on her face when she saw that she was, in fact, sitting directly across from him. M with W. Of course.

She licked her lips and cleared her throat once before sliding into her seat. Jason glanced discreetly at her but she kept her gaze glued down and pretended to fiddle with her pencils. When that went on too long to be plausible, she fiddled with her fingernails instead, picking at the _Heartbeat Frost_ polish.

The tension in the room had skyrocketed as soon as Elizabeth laid eyes on Jason – everyone felt it. Charlie shuffled in his seat, Ryan and Lisa wiggled their eyebrows apprehensively at each other, and Sonny frowned darkly at a certain light-haired boy seated across the room.

But the proctors didn't notice the mounting teenage drama and passed out the booklets, and the test was on. Elizabeth's fingers flew furiously over her calculator as she graphed and sketched, sketched and solved. Jason didn't need his calculator as much as she did – he relied heavily on quick mental math and acute graphing skills.

There were times when he would pause during the multiple choice, and at those times he always found himself watching her. The way she nibbled religiously on her bottom lip, the cute way she crinkled her nose when a problem wasn't working out right. Her hair would tumble over her shoulders and she'd employ a sexy little toss of her head to throw it back.

And then Jason would drag his eyes away from her and back to his test, only to have his hormones shoot into hyperactivity when her ankle accidentally brushed against his calf under the table, seashell bracelet and all.

There was a five-minute break after the multiple choice and Elizabeth couldn't seem to leave her table fast enough. She stood immediately and dragged Lisa and Lexi off to the bathroom, not emerging until twenty seconds before test time.

Jason finished the essay portion of the test while facing the same perils he had during the multiple choice, and when the exam was over, Elizabeth waved to Sonny and practically dashed out of the room. Jason frowned when his best friend picked up his calculator and dashed after her, meeting her at the doors where she was waiting for him.

They left together with several other kids from the other Calculus class. All of Mr. Alcazar's six-seven hour students had decided that they'd take an extra long lunch today by skipping math altogether, and although their teacher knew, he didn't protest. He even suggested that they have their parents call in and excuse them, just in case – after all, Mr. Alcazar didn't blame any of them for not wanting to come to math right after the AP test.

Jason walked to the parking lot by himself and drove home, immediately going down to his permanent camp in the basement and collapsing on the sofa that had been his bed for two weeks. He didn't move from the basement until the next morning when his alarm went off.

He was at school on time and trudged to all of his classes, again leaving his crutches in Mr. Alcazar's room for the whole day. He ate lunch with Luke and Taggert and a couple of their other friends, and the boys mentioned plans to hit a Blues' bar that Luke had just discovered after school. They called it an after-AP party, and Jason was surprised to find out that it was to be a pretty big affair – Brendan, Michael, Charlie, and a few other "straight-arrow" kids planned to attend as well.

He didn't know if he would attend or not. The last time he had gotten wasted with Luke and Marcus was on Sunday, and he didn't like how he felt on Monday.

Truth be told, it was beginning to hit him that maybe partying with those two boys was not the best course of action. For one, all of their activities involved alcohol, and while Jason appreciated the liquor's ability to transport him out of his depression, he always felt guilty about it later.

And that, he knew, was all the fault of a certain petite brunette. Elizabeth hadn't spoken to him for a week, nor he her, and if he forced himself to admit it, that was contributing to the funk he was in.

She wasn't at school today, and as he walked through the crowded halls, he found himself wondering why. Not being able to see her made him want to see her more – maybe by some miraculous stroke of luck, he'd work up the nerve to talk to her.

School ended for the weekend and Jason made his way to his Jeep. Sitting down, he started the car and was instantly assaulted with the loud notes of Bon Jovi's "It's My Life". Coincidentally, it was the same song that had been playing when he had shut the car off this morning.

"Paradox," he muttered to himself as he put the Jeep in gear and sped out of the parking lot.

The wind whipped through his hair and Jason had to squint to see the road. It was a bright day – sunny and warm and perfect for running. A frown twisted his lips and he pressed harder on the gas.

He was home before he knew it and immediately went back down to his grotto in the basement to fix himself a peanut butter and honey sandwich.

_"Honey?" _

"Yes, dear?"

"Seriously, Jason."

The sweet taste of the golden honey did little to counter the sour frown on Jason's face. That weekend had been fun – even though he was unable to move on his own two feet, he hadn't even minded. And Elizabeth hadn't even complained; even though she could easily have been rollerblading with Brenda or playing wiffle ball in the park with her editor friends, or doing any of the million things that occupied a normal teenager's life, she chose to stay with him.

It was hard to explain how that made him feel. Important. Cared for. Loved.

Jason snorted. _Loved. _

"So, you two are a couple, right?"

"So that means she's your girlfriend and he's your boyfriend, right?"

"So, then, does that mean you guys are in love?"

Yeah, he was in love. He had been in love with her for a while. But that didn't matter anymore – not when he had completely #$ it all up.

He didn't know how it got this far out of control – he certainly hadn't meant for it to. It had all started innocently enough – he was depressed after his appointment and just brooded for the rest of the day. And when Luke and Taggert made him join them, it seemed so easy.

What were a few beers, anyway? So what? Who cared? Everyone in high school did it.

_But you never did_, a voice in his head reminded him.

Jason scowled and flung himself down on the green sofa that had become his second bed. It didn't matter anymore. The beer had felt good that Friday night – it totally took him away from his problems. For once in his life, there was nothing. Nothing to worry about, nothing at all. And he liked it that way.

But when he got up the next morning with a hangover, regret had set in. And guilt came soon after. Embarrassment settled in like a fog – he was regretful that the circumstances had turned him toward alcohol. He was guilty about disobeying the rules his parents had set and getting wasted. And he was embarrassed that he had blown off his own girlfriend, one of the most important people in the world to him – when had _that_ happened? – to hang with the boys and Mr. Booze.

But the weekend wasn't much better – he just couldn't get himself out of the funk he had fallen in. So when Luke had called him up on Sunday to see if he wanted to hang out, Jason went – even though he knew exactly what "hang out" meant.

And that was why he was the lowest of all scum.

He was weak and selfish and handicapped, and Elizabeth deserved better.

But as much as he tried to convince himself of that, Jason couldn't. He just couldn't. Because he was right when he said that he was selfish – he was. He was selfish when it came to Elizabeth. He wanted her for himself; he didn't want to be without her.

And that was exactly what had happened. He had #$ up and she had backed off. Staring at the ceiling, Jason knew he didn't blame her. Not one bit.

He knew what Elizabeth was like. If he had told her at the beginning what had happened, she would have been there for him totally. But at the time, he just couldn't handle that thought, and despite everything that had gone down, he still couldn't.

He had liked it when she had mothered him while he was on bedrest – it was selfish and self-indulgent, but he had loved it all. But that was when she had a choice. She chose to stay with him and he loved it.

But this time, she wouldn't have a choice. If he had told her what had happened, she would have been obligated to pity him. To sympathize with him. And Jason didn't want that – no, he couldn't _stand_ that. He didn't want her to feel like she had to do anything with him – ever.

So that day, he had pushed it away as if it would go away if he tried hard enough. But it didn't go away – it got bigger and bigger until he was a speck in comparison.

It had snowballed so fast, and Jason knew he had messed up the minute he blew her off after school. He should have stopped. He should have waited for her. He should have let her talk to him. If he had told her that he didn't really want to talk about it just yet, she would have respected that and not have pushed until he was ready.

But hindsight was always twenty-twenty.

All the _woulda, coulda, shoulda's_ in the world couldn't have helped him now. He created the monster, and it had ruined everything. So now, instead of taking Elizabeth to prom – something he didn't really care for but wanted to do because he knew how much it meant to her – or kissing her after graduation or spending the entire summer making a lifetime of memories for them to take with them to college, he would be going it solo.

Jason rolled over on his stomach and buried his face in a pillow. It wasn't supposed to turn out this way. He wasn't supposed to piss her off. He wasn't supposed to hurt her, as he knew it had. And that was what really killed him – he had hurt her. Bad. And he didn't even know how it happened or how to take it back. After taking it slow and spending months convincing her that she could trust him and that he really cared about her, he had spun around and dashed it all with one bone-headed move. Or maybe it had been a combination of bone-headed moves. He didn't altogether know. And, he reflected, it didn't even matter.

Because after this, she probably wouldn't waste another breath or thought on him. And he didn't blame her at all.

The phone rang and Jason didn't move. He didn't want to. He just wanted to sit and wallow in his self-pity and self-loathing. But the ringing persisted and Jason realized it was his cell phone, not the home phone.

He grabbed it off the table and stared at the screen before turning it on.

"Morgan."

_"Yo, Jason – Taggert. Hey, everyone's here at…wait. Luke, what's this joint called? Oh. Really? Just that? OK. Yeah, well, everyone's here at Jake's on Elm, and they've been asking where you were." There was noise in the background and Jason could hear Brendan yelling something. "Brend-o and Michael are here, too – I'm thinking me, you and Luke could hustle them in a game of pool." Michael Quartermaine must have heard because he said something to Taggert and the boy laughed. _

_"So you coming or what?" _

Jason sighed. Coming involved moving. "I don't think so."

_"Oh, come on," Taggert insisted. "This is a great place, man, let me tell you. Come on – just for a little while." _

Jason looked at the clock. It was seven o'clock. His parents were out of town for some convention in Chicago, and AJ was sleeping over at Chloe's since the kids had a long weekend. Even his grandparents were away for the weekend at their house on Cape Cod.

Thinking of Elizabeth had brought all the pain and anger and guilt rushing back, and Jason found himself rationalizing a beer or two. Maybe he'd just swing by for a little while…

"I'll be there in twenty minutes."

* * *

_"I'll talk to you later, Sonny," Brenda smiled into the phone. "I have to go." _

"Yeah? Where to?" Sonny drawled, leaning back on the armchair in his basement and putting his feet up on the ottoman.

_"Beth and I are going to have one of our infamous ice cream socials and talk about how much we hate your kind." _

He could hear the smile in her voice. "Yowch. That again, huh?"

_"Yup," Brenda laughed. "Come over tomorrow?" _

"Sure," he nodded immediately. "See you then."

_"Bye, Sonny." _

"Goodnight, Bren. Have fun – say hey to Beth for me."

_"Done deal. Later." _

With that, she hung up and Sonny dropped the phone back in its cradle. For the first time in a long time, he found himself with nothing to do on a Friday night. He had rushed home after school because it was his mother's birthday today, and normally he and his father cooked her dinner.

But that wasn't the case tonight. When Sonny came home, his parents were on the phone with Ric and Sam in Texas, and after talking to the baby and telling their son and daughter-in-law that they had better bring little Kristina up to New York before she started driving, they hung up. That's when he learned that his father was taking Adela to New York for an opera and dinner, and that they may be gone for the weekend.

That meant that Sonny had the entire house to himself, but nothing to do with it. So he had retired to the basement with some lemonade and Moose and switched on his _Dance! Dance! Revolution_ video game and spent the next hour dancing on a video game pad to Japanese techno. His dog had just sat calmly and watched, and after a while, the curly lab took a nap. Then Brenda had called and Sonny had spent the next two hours on the phone with her.

He had just selected a new song for DDR when his cell rang.

"Hello?"

_"Sonny? Hey, this is Luke. Listen, we've…um, got a problem." _

Sonny heard yelling in the background and squeezed his eyes shut. "Do I even want to know?"

_"No," the boy responded truthfully. "But that won't stop me from telling you." _

"Wait – stop." Sonny paused, listening intently to the yelling in the background. "Is that _Jason_?"

_"That obvious, huh?" _

"Oh, shit." Sonny ran a hand through his dark curls, his Japanese techno instantly forgotten. "What happened? Where are you guys? What's going on?"

_"Well, a whole bunch of us are at Jake's on Elm. You know the place?" _

"That dive?" Sonny placed a hand on his hip after turning down the volume of the television. "Yeah, I know it."

_"Yeah, well, we were just playing pool and, um, drinking," Luke explained hesitantly. It was no secret that Sonny felt very strongly about underage drinking, and just saying that to the Don had him feeling guilty. "And, yeah, well, Jason showed up…"_

Sonny sighed. He was still very angry with his best friend, but the note in Luke's voice had him worried. Despite everything, he'd never want anything bad to happen to Jason. "And?"

_"And everything was cool," Luke explained hurriedly. "But then this one guy came in and got wasted and picked a fight with Brendan, and you know how squirrelly that kid is. So Jason – who's also, um, yeah, drunk – took him on and now they're really going at it and…"_

"And you called me because you can't break it up, you can't calm him down, you don't want to ask Elizabeth to come down to that rathole and you don't think she would even if you did, and I was the only other person you could think of," Sonny finished. Even though he and Luke rarely hung out together, they had been good friends in junior high and Sonny still knew how his old friend thought.

_"Pretty much." _

The dark-haired boy grabbed his keys and ran up the stairs to put on his shoes and shut off the lights. "Give me ten minutes."

_"See you then, Don Corinthos."

* * *

_

"Man, Beth, I'm so sorry," Brenda apologized as she hurriedly pulled on her coat and searched her pocket for her keys. "I know we planned to hang out tonight but-"

"Hey, hey," Elizabeth cut her off, reaching for the switch to the porch light. "No problem. Go, go – your mom wouldn't have called if it wasn't important. Go, hurry."

"Thanks," Brenda smiled. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Sure," Elizabeth smiled back. She pulled the front door open and gave her best friend a quick hug. "Go now – get out of here. I hope your mom feels better soon."

"She will," Brenda nodded confidently, but Elizabeth could see the worry in her eyes. "She just gets these killer migraines sometimes, and it's like she can't move. I usually just make her some tea and she takes her vitamins and sleeps it off. But I should run – I'll call you."

With that, she took off down the front steps and to Pat the Porsche sitting in the driveway. Elizabeth waved and stayed at the door until Brenda had disappeared down the street. Then she shut the door and locked it.

"Pappy!" she called up the stairs. "Bren left, just to let you know."

Her grandfather hurried down the stairs, his finger on his lips. "Shh, Bethie – your Gram just fell asleep."

"Oh." Elizabeth immediately felt guilty. "Geez, I'm sorry." Her grandmother had been suffering from insomnia recently, so it was an understandable relief to her grandfather that she finally got to sleep.

"It's okay," he assured her, draping an arm around her shoulders and walking with her to the kitchen. "Now, why did Brenda leave?"

"Her mom called," Elizabeth explained as her grandfather poured himself a glass of chilled water and pulled out his B6 vitamins. "She was feeling really sick, and since Bren's dad's in some board meeting right now, Bren was the only one she could call."

"Migraines," Steve repeated, swallowing his pills with a grimace. "Goodness, those are terrible. I hope she gets better soon."

Elizabeth nodded. "Me, too."

"Come on," her grandfather motioned her over to the table. "Your Gram made some brownies for you today."

"Ooh," Elizabeth smiled. "Awesome."

"I'll get them, you pour the milk," her grandfather directed. Elizabeth did as she was told and before long the two of them were seated at the kitchen table with a large brownie and two brimming glasses of milk.

"Bethie," her grandfather began slowly, pinching the corner of his brownie. He always observed and picked at his food before eating it – Elizabeth had already crammed half the confection down her throat and he was still playing with his. "Sweetheart, I don't mean to pry, but I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Sure, Pappy," she nodded, swallowing the last of her brownie and moving on to her milk. "Go ahead."

"It might not be something you want to talk about, but…" He glanced up at her, his pale blue eyes meeting her dark ones. "Why doesn't Jason come by anymore? And why don't you go over to the Morgan house anymore?"

Elizabeth sighed and set her glass down, unsure of how to answer. Her grandfather watched her movements and grimaced.

"Bad time, huh?"

She smiled. "Kinda. More like bad situation."

"Oh?" He pushed his half-eaten brownie forward, offering it to her. "You want to talk about it Bethie?"

"Not really," she admitted. "But to make a long story short, I think Jason and I broke up."

Her grandfather frowned. "You _think_ you broke up? I wasn't aware that there was much confusion regarding the distinction to attached and unattached."

Elizabeth sighed with the weight of the world. "It's complicated, Pappy."

"You know what's complicated?" he asked her with a smirk. "Coming up with a war strategy two miles from the battlefield. And I did that – so I'm thinking that I could probably get this."

She smirked. "Well, it's weird. We haven't spoken for a week, he's totally ignoring me, and he's been drinking."

Steve's light-hearted mood disappeared. "Drinking? Alcohol?"

Elizabeth nodded sadly. "Yeah."

"But he was always so against that – that boy is careful about _everything_ he puts in his body."

She shrugged. "Apparently not so much anymore." She tapped her red nails against the glass and looked up when her grandfather spoke.

"And he hasn't said anything at all?"

"Nope."

"Did you try to talk to him?"

Elizabeth cringed. "Not really."

Steve stared at his granddaughter. "And why not?"

"I don't know," Elizabeth shrugged helplessly. "I just couldn't. I guess I wanted him to come to me, because I didn't want to sound like a nag and end up pestering him about his feelings or his bad mood if it was only that he was tired or sick, you know? I didn't want to sound like I was making a big deal about nothing – that kind of annoys him."

"So instead you let it go on," her grandfather finished for her.

Elizabeth's blue eyes blazed. "Hey, Pappy, he's the one that blew me off and rejected my phone calls and-"

"I know, I know," Steve hurried to assure her. "I know, Bethie, honey, I know. But on the same token, you didn't seek him out. Sure, sometimes you don't want to because you don't know if someone's just having an off-day, in which they're usually fine if you leave them alone and let them clear things up. But when it becomes obvious that it's not just a one-time case of crankiness, you have to do something."

Elizabeth dropped her head on the tabletop, her hand curling into a fist by her empty glass of milk. "I know. I was too big a chicken and I messed up."

"Is it too late to fix all of this?" Steve asked hopefully. "Why don't you call him? Or drop by? Why not try to fix this?"

"I don't know…" Elizabeth hedged, peeking out at him from under a curtain of chocolate silk.

"Sweetheart," her grandfather sighed, leaning forward in his chair. "I know you're both young and have lots of growing up to do, but it's never too early to learn a lesson about love."

"Love?" Elizabeth repeated in surprise. "Pappy-"

He silenced her with one look. "When you love someone, there's no halfway mark. When you care about someone, there's no 'almost'. There's no limit, either. It's all or nothing, sweetheart. If that person is in trouble, you save them, right?"

"Right…"

"And if that person is hurt, you help them, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Don't you see, Bethie – there's no midway here. They either mean something to you or they don't. It's really as simple as that." He ran a hand through his soft white hair, all seriousness. "But it still took me a long time to figure that out. When you feel very strongly for one person, Bethie, and that person pulls away, it's up to you to fight to get them back. Don't rely on fate, don't rely on Love alone, and don't even rely on that person. It is your job to do what you can to win them back – if they really mean something to you."

"But, Pappy-"

"Sweetheart, your grandmother and I almost didn't get married," he admitted softly. "Did I tell you that?"

Elizabeth stared at him. "What?"

"I did something careless and she pulled back. I thought we were done, too, and I was going to leave it to that when my mother sat me down and told me what I'm telling you now. She said to me, 'Stevie, you go out there and don't you come back until you've got _her_ back'. That's exactly what she said, Bethie, and that's exactly what I did. If I had walked away, if I had let _her_ walk away, things would be very different for all of us today."

Elizabeth leaned back in her seat. "You think I should make the first move here?"

Steve licked his lips. "Well, that depends."

"On what?"

His pale blue eyes were shone with sincerity and honesty, and the look on his face told him that he expected the same from her. "How do you feel about the boy?"

Elizabeth looked at her clasped hands on the table. "I really care about him, Pappy."

But Steve wasn't satisfied. "Why?"

"Huh?"

"You heard me," he smiled softly. "Why? Why do you care about him? What makes this boy so wonderful that you would feel so about him?"

Elizabeth nibbled on her lip and forced herself to meet his gaze. After all, he was being honest and open with her, and he deserved the same in return. "It's the way he used to make me feel, Pappy."

"And how did he make you feel, Bethie?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Important. Special. Pretty. Like I was the most amazing girl he'd ever met." She smiled at her fingernails, a blush creeping to her cheeks. "Sonny said that he'd do things like take the long way to class just so he'd pass me in the hallway. He always waited for me and carried my books if I let him and he just made me feel so…ladylike. Beautiful. Perfect, even."

Her eyes were soft when she met his again. "I've never felt that way about anyone else before, Pappy. Maybe that's because Jason's my first boyfriend – I don't know – but I just don't think it gets any better than what we had."

Steve tipped his chin at her. "Do you love him, Bethie?"

Her eyes widened and he knew that he'd surprised her with that word. He also knew that his granddaughter didn't like ascribing words to feelings – even if she did love him, it might take her a while to say that it was Love that she was feeling.

"I think so."

He smiled gently at her whispered answer and leaned forward until his nose was an inch from hers. "So do you really think that's worth giving up?"

She shook her head, and for the first time her lower lip trembled. "But I don't know how to make it better, Pappy. I don't know what to do."

"Keep an open mind," he advised her softly. "Don't pass up any chance – no matter how small it may seem – to let him know that you are still interested in making it work."

She was about to reply when the phone rang. Elizabeth frowned and reached back to retrieve it from the counter.

"Hello?"

_"Beth?" _

"Sonny?"

_"Yeah. Look, I have a problem." _

She looked at her grandfather who lifted an eyebrow in question. "What type of problem?"

_"It's, um, involving Jason." _

Elizabeth's eyebrows shot up. "What about Jason?" Across from her, Steve also leaned forward to listen.

_"We're here at Jake's and…yeah, Jason's kind of drunk." _

"Sonny-"

_"And involved in one hell of a bar fight." _

"What!"

_"Look, you know that I would never call you, but I did everything I could. And I have afucking black eye to show for it, too." _

Elizabeth grimaced and tightened her hold on the phone. "Sonny, what do-"

_"I know it's a lot to ask and I wouldn't blame you if you said no, but do you think you could come down here? We got rid of the first guy, but now this other one started in on Jason, and we can't get them to split up and we can't get him to calm down and – oh, damn it all to Hell." _

Elizabeth put a hand over the receiver and looked at her grandfather.

"What happened?" he asked immediately, not liking the look on his youngest granddaughter's face.

"Jason's in trouble."

Steve stared at her. "What kind of trouble?"

Elizabeth licked her lips before nibbling on the bottom one. "He got in a fight," she said slowly. She exhaled deeply before continuing. "Sonny's already there – he tried to calm him down, but it's not working. He asked me to come."

Steve glanced at the clock. "Where is it?"

"Jake's?" Elizabeth replied. "I think that's what he said. It's over on Elm."

"A bar?" Steve asked, frowning.

Elizabeth nodded.

"I don't want you going to a bar, Bethie," he said firmly. But after thinking about it for a minute, he spoke again. "Is Sonny there?"

"Yes."

"Has he been drinking?"

"No."

Steve stared at the kitchen tiles. "What do you think, Bethie? What do you want to do?"

"It's not really a matter of what I _want_ to do," she replied with a humorless chuckle. "It's more along the lines of what I have to do. Pappy, I don't want Jason to get hurt. It doesn't matter what happened – I don't him to hurt anyone or end up hurt himself. That's the same reason why Sonny even showed up. If he says he needs my help, then I know he's serious. He'd never call me down there if he didn't already try everything else."

"Are you going to go?"

She nodded slowly. "I'll try to be in and out as quick as I can. I have to go, Pappy."

"I'll be there as soon as I can, Sonny," she spoke into the receiver. "Thanks. Bye."

He looked down at his hands. "I don't like it, but all right. Call me, and take some sort of…"

"Mace?" she smiled. "I've got a can in the dash of the Acura."

He nodded seriously. "All right. For God's sake, angel, be careful. Do you want me to come too?"

"No," she answered immediately. "There's no need for it, Pappy – I'll be fine."

"Oh, your father is going to kill me for this," her grandfather muttered. "But he'll just have to get in line behind your mother and grandmother."

Elizabeth smiled and grabbed her purse before kissing him on the cheek. "You're overreacting, Pappy. My other friends are there, too – nothing bad's going to happen. I'll call you."

With that, she pulled her leather jacket out of the closet and stepped outside, instantly glad that she had decided to cover up. Despite the fact that it was late May and very warm, the nights were still cool and she would be chilly in her black tank top.

She got into the Acura and waved to her grandfather who stood watch at the window and pulled out of the driveway, hoping she wasn't too late to run damage control.

* * *

Jason Morgan was in no mood to fight. He had already beaten one man enough for the drunk to stagger out of the dive, but now that guy's buddy wanted some. Currently, he was doing his best to rile Jason up – pushing him, threatening him, cursing at him.

Brendan and Michael – the two relatively most sober kids around – were doing a good job of holding him back and the others were trying to hold the guy off, but it just wasn't working.

Sonny was watching from the sidelines by the pay phone. His batteries had died shortly after he arrived at Jake's, just in time to see Jason engaged in a fearsome brawl with a man several inches taller than him. He had joined in immediately along with Taggert, and although the two of them got in Jason's way more than they helped him, the drunk finally got his comeuppance when Jason bloodied his nose and finished the job with a solid roundhouse kick that left the man wheezing for breath.

They thought that was the end of it and Jason had just turned to say something to him when another man, presumably a friend of the beaten drunk's, had stepped up. That was when Jason's temper flared again, and none of the boys could get him to calm down and leave. The other man was clearly enjoying it, and took the opportunity to taunt Jason relentlessly.

That was when Sonny had run to the pay phones to call Elizabeth, and as he glanced back at the scene, he watched in horror as Michael and Brendan lost their hold on his best friend and Jason launched himself at the man, a murderous look on his face.

The tussle that ensued was worse than the first, and Sonny abandoned his post and joined in to help. Taggert and Michael did the same, but Taggert was a little too inebriated to match the older man's agility. Jason, too, was beginning to show the effects of his drinking and had begun to wobble slightly on his feet.

Sonny and Michael finally managed to wrench the man off a very unsteady Jason and were trying to show him the door when he broke free. At that exact moment, Elizabeth walked into the bar.

_Perfect timing as always_, she mused when she took in the mess around her.

The man took one glance at her and was about to turn back to pummel Sonny and Michael when Elizabeth spoke up.

"I called the cops on the way over here, so that may not be such a good idea."

The man stared at her, and it didn't take long for him to become convinced that he really should leave. When he had left, Taggert approached the brunette timidly.

"You didn't really call the cops, did you?" he asked, naturally thinking of the fact that there was a whole bunch of underage kids with fake IDs getting drunk at the local dive.

Elizabeth shook her head. "Is everyone okay?"

Brendan nodded. He was nursing a black eye, as were Sonny, Michael and Luke. Taggert's nose was bleeding before but had stopped.

Jason however, was the biggest wreck out of everyone. All of Elizabeth's feelings of anger and resentment toward him fled the moment she laid eyes on him. A huge shiner, a bloodied nose, and several bruises under the sleeves of his brown tee-shirt instantly brought out her more maternal side.

"Jason!" He was surprised, just like every other guy in the room except Sonny, when she flew to his side and began inspecting his injuries. The nose wasn't serious – just a thin trickle of blood – but the eye would be turning some mighty interesting colors before it healed.

"Don't you think you've all had enough fun for one night?" she asked sternly, her hands still on Jason's face but her eyes boring into each one of her friends in turn.

Taggert shuffled his feet in embarrassment and Luke looked away, knowing she was right.

"And don't you think all of you should go home now?" she prodded, tipping her head toward the door.

The boys nodded and lingered for a few minutes before everyone shuffled out the door. Elizabeth took the time to call her grandfather and tell him that everything was fine and that she was going to drop Jason home.

"You don't have to do that," he sputtered. It was the first thing he'd said to her in nearly a week. "Really, I-"

"What?" she challenged. "You'll drive yourself home? Drunk?" He looked away in embarrassment and she shook her head. "Hardly."

"Listen, Beth," Sonny spoke up at her side. "It's no problem – I can drop him home. Maybe you should get home yourself…"

"It's fine, Sonny," she insisted, keeping one hand on Jason's arm. "Really. But can we do one thing?"

Both boys looked at her, but Sonny was the only one to speak. "What?"

"Can we just get out of here?"

Sonny nodded once and led the way, grabbing Jason's jacket on the way. The blonde followed with Elizabeth still flanking him and her arm still looped protectively through his.

They split up in the parking lot, but not before standing under the lights for a moment to take inventory.

"Now, you're sure you're okay?" Elizabeth asked Sonny again. "I don't like the look of that eye."

"Actually, it was black since Tuesday," he reminded her, but not without sparing a quick glance at his best friend, the same one who had given him the shiner to begin with.

Jason rubbed the back of his neck, which Sonny took for the apology it was meant to be.

"Here." He held out his arm, across which was draped Jason's leather jacket.

Jason accepted it slowly. "Thanks."

Sonny knew what he meant by that one word – _Thanks for the jacket, and thanks for having my back_. He nodded once. "Sure. Anytime."

Jason held the jacket a moment before gingerly trying to pull it on. His forearm tingled and the muscles around his rotator cuffs screamed. Damn. His arm was going to be stiff tomorrow.

Elizabeth watched him for a brief moment before reaching out to help him. She held the jacket and pulled it close enough for him to ease one arm into, then another. She smoothed down the front and zipped it up halfway, every bit the protective mother hen.

Sonny was squinting at his best friend. "Dude, you sure you're going to make it home okay?"

Jason shrugged. "Whatever. I'm fine, really." The alcohol was still clogging up his brain, and just maintaining his balance seemed a chore.

"Yeah, well." Elizabeth wasn't so convinced. "Better make sure your car's locked – you can come pick it up tomorrow."

Jason locked the black Jeep with his key chain and turned around to face his friends. Sonny was the first to speak, and backed away to his own car as he did so.

"You _sure_ you'll be okay, Beth?"

She waved him on and grabbed Jason's elbow to steer him to the Acura. "I'm _fine_, Sonny – go home already."

The dark-haired boy relented and, waving, he got into his own car. Elizabeth helped Jason into the passenger seat and got in herself, and it was only when she started her car and pulled onto the main road that Sonny left the parking lot.

Jason opened the window as soon as they picked up speed and let the cold night air blast him in the face. Elizabeth glanced at him a couple times before turning her complete focus on the road.

"Jeepers creepers, Morgan, you sure know how to find yourself some trouble."

His voice was soft and hazy from the liquor when he replied. "I didn't find any trouble."

She smirked. "No, of course not – it found you." Elizabeth shook her head, the cool air inundating her car causing her to tighten her grip on the wheel. "But geez, Jason – a _bar fight_?"

It was his turn to smirk in the moonlight. "Tell you what – next time I decide to pick a bar fight, I'll bring you as back up."


	22. Lose Yourself In Me

**Lose Yourself In Me (PG)**

_This takes place on Friday, the 21st of May._

Jason didn't say anything as Elizabeth drove him home. The roads were surprisingly empty for a warm Friday night, and the golden street lights blurred in the inky sky as Elizabeth whizzed down the curve.

The moonlight fell on Jason's handsome face like a curtain, highlighting his features while cloaking part of him in mysterious shadows, and Elizabeth couldn't help it when her gaze kept straying to his profile. He was leaning back in the passenger seat, one shoulder pressed up against the door.

"Uh, you know, my dad would always tell me never to lean against the car door," she heard herself say. "He said it could be dangerous. You never know…you know?"

Jason licked his lips and straightened, clasping his hands in his laps. Even though Elizabeth mistook his silence for quiet misgivings about ordering him around, in truth, Jason was just so grateful that after everything she still came to get him that he had no problem doing whatever she wanted him to.

Elizabeth pulled into Jason's subdivision and zoomed past the other mansions before pulling into his driveway. She turned off the lights and shut down the car before leaping out herself in to the night.

Jason's surprise was tremendous when she appeared at his side and helped him out, then walked him into the house. He expected her to leave once she unlocked the door for him, but instead she guided him in and held the door open like he usually did for her. Once inside, she opted to leave her own jacket on and carefully helped him take his off, mindful of his sore arm.

As he slowly took off his motorcycle boots, Elizabeth turned on some lights in the house before returning to help him downstairs. He didn't need her to help support him or anything, but she insisted on holding his hand as they descended the steps.

His hand was large and rough and swallowed her small, soft one as always. He absently rubbed circles over her rose petal skin as he always did, and Elizabeth welcomed the same butterflies that always danced in her stomach when he did.

There were so many things she had missed about him, she realized as she switched on the basement lights. Things that she had never even imagined that she would notice so acutely were now things she yearned to experience again.

She liked the way he pinched his nose when he was annoyed or stumped. He did that a lot in Calculus – she had seen him doing it a few times during the AP when she had allowed her gaze to linger on him as he wrote.

She liked the way his eyes twinkled whenever she said something funny. They twinkled when she smiled at him and they twinkled when she teased him. He never got angry or irritated when she teased him, and he rarely teased her back. But the way he answered her teasing was what really got to her. That silky smooth voice, rough and sexy, did her in every time.

"Let's just get you to bed, Jason," she murmured as she helped him turn out the sofa bed.

He didn't say anything, just watched her as she straightened the sheets and fluffed his pillows. The events of the past hour had him feeling like a dog, and he reflected that he should be feeling worse. After a week of brushing her off and doing his best to stay away, the girl still showed up when he needed her. She came and took care of him, and he knew that he sure as hell didn't deserve it.

She unfolded his blanket should he need it – the night was warm, but just in case. His eyes were on her – Elizabeth could feel them. A warmth spread through her body and she couldn't explain why – something about the way his heated gaze swept over her, through her, into her left her tingly and breathless.

And that was probably the one thing among many that she found most attractive about her boyfriend – those piercing eyes. They were icy and cold when he was annoyed or upset, and fiery and warm when…whenever he looked at her. God, she loved the way he looked at her, like she was the most exquisite thing he had ever seen, like she'd vanish into thin air if he looked away for even a second.

She had always been privy to the thoughts of her friends regarding their beaus of the moment, and what she had seen with almost everyone was that eventually the newness wore off and the relationship – physical and personal – cooled off and fell into a rut.

That had never been the case with her and Jason. The little things about him still made her heart flutter – the way he ran his hand through his hair, his sexy little laugh, the length of his slender fingers and toes, his defined biceps, and even the cute little way he smirked at her when she was being silly. And Jason had done the same for her. The way he talked to her like her opinion was the most important thing in the world, the way he treated her like she was a princess and he her white knight, the way he kissed her. He made her feel so special and perfect even after they had been seeing each other for a couple months.

Her sigh was soft, but Jason still heard it. How had things spiraled out of control so fast? Would she ever feel him stroke her hair again? Would she ever have the chance to sit in his lap like she always did? Would he ever sing _Bohemian Rhapsody_ to her again, or grab her hand while they ran inside the school building together after lunch?

The basement lights were dim, and the alcohol humming through his body allowed Jason to drown out all other stimuli save the angel in front of him. She was kneeling on the sofa bed and straightening his pillows and fixing the sheets over the spring mattress.

He loved it. He loved the way she always wanted to take care of him, the way she always wanted to mother him. And of course, he always let her. It didn't really matter that the guys snickered when she fixed the collar of his shirt before they split for class, or when she always handed him a napkin during lunch. It was the little things like that that put him at such ease around her. She wasn't trying to change him – she had never done that. She was just so keen on helping him and so tuned into his personal habits that it just came naturally – for both of them.

He missed that. He missed everything about the remarkable girl that was still so bent on taking care of him. Jason rubbed a hand over his face, feeling a little hazy from the combination of alcohol and the warmth of sleep that was already beginning to claim his body. He never thought that he would enjoy having someone baby him – never thought that he would want someone to baby him. His mother used to, until Jason made a point to put an end to that. It had always annoyed him slightly when she fussed about after him; after all, she still had one other son that needed babying.

But Elizabeth was so different. It made Jason feel so special and important that this truly amazing girl cared for him enough to straighten his collar or zip up his jacket or insist that he wear socks and shoes in the winter instead of his sandals.

He missed everything about her – the way she laughed with him, the way she teased him, the way she'd lean into him when they talked. Watching her fuss with the sheets, Jason's fingers twitched.

He wanted to touch her.

He wanted to hold her.

Good God, he just wanted all this behind them so he could go back to loving her the way she deserved.

"That should do it," Elizabeth murmured softly, pushing herself off the bed. The basement lights were set on the dimmest setting, but she still noticed the way the sheets bunched in the corner near where Jason was standing, and quickly moved to straighten them over the mattress.

She was a few inches away from him, kneeling over the corner of the bed and tugging the white sheets when Jason's knees turned to mush. And it was when a thick lock of chocolate hair slipped past her small, delicate shell of an ear and into her moonlit face that Jason melted altogether.

Elizabeth's gasp echoed in the scant distance between them when Jason's rough fingertips found her cheek to tuck her hair behind her ear. Her startled sapphire eyes met his piercing cerulean orbs, glistening in the darkness and before she knew what was happening, Jason's lips met hers in a searing kiss.

And Elizabeth kissed him back.

Suddenly, the melancholy tension that had plagued them all night evaporated; nothing existed but the firm press of his lips against hers. It didn't matter that they hadn't spoken in a week; it didn't matter that he had just come back from a bar fight and that her grandfather was waiting for her at home. Nothing mattered to the two of them; both were so desperate for comforting, familiar physical contact – just one more kiss, one more touch – that there was no extinguishing the fire now that the flames had been fanned.

Elizabeth's hands found his strong jaw and her fingers fanned out to frame his face and bring him closer still. Jason moaned at her aggressiveness as he smoothed his hands down her neck, his long fingers brushing against the collar of her leather jacket.

Elizabeth barely felt it when he pushed her jacket off her shoulders and onto the floor. But she did feel the warmth of his hands setting the soft skin of her bare shoulders aflame, and she purred against him. Jason used the opportunity to softly press the tip of his tongue against her lips.

She accepted him immediately, granting him access into the sweet, warm recesses of her mouth as his fingers slipped under the thin straps of her black tank top and her black bra underneath. But Elizabeth wasn't guilty of just standing idly around either – her hands were already fisted in his brown tee-shirt, anxiously tugging it free from the waistband of his black jeans.

He growled into her mouth when her soft, cool hands found his abdomen and wandered around to his back, pushing his shirt up high. Jason didn't know how this started, didn't remember who started it, and certainly wasn't able to stop – especially with the way she was sucking his bottom lip.

Her arms were around his shoulders, pulling her tight black top up and offering a creamy expanse of her narrow waist to his open exploration. She was so tiny; if he spread his hands out at the pinch of her waist, he could almost make them touch.

Elizabeth tugged at his shirt, effectively bringing Jason's hands up from the waistband of her black hiphuggers to her stomach. His fingers pushed up the cotton tank and probed upwards, massaging gentle circles on her heated flesh as he made love to her mouth.

And the next thing she knew, they were moving. She wasn't sure if he was pushing her toward the bed or if she was pulling him, but it didn't matter. She just wanted to feel his body against her, hear his ragged voice in her ear, taste his lips against hers.

Jason grunted as she pulled him back, and effectively managed to twist around so that they fell on the bed with him on the bottom. Their limbs were tangled together but that didn't stop Elizabeth from nuzzling Jason's neck. He moaned and rubbed a large hand up and down her slender thigh, eliciting electrifying tingles that she had never felt before.

Jason felt her shiver against him and repeated the motion, receiving a purr of pure pleasure against the column of his throat. Elizabeth was teasing him again – kissing a path of blazing kisses up his neck and to his chin, and rerouting just as she reached his lips. He squirmed underneath her, trying to redirect her attention and capture her mouth, but she eluded him and continued to push him toward the edge.

Finally, Jason had taken all he could. A pair of strong hands reached up to frame his girlfriend's beautiful face, and Jason lifted himself up off the bed to leave her breathless with a scorching kiss.

Elizabeth's body melted against his at the pure passion of the kiss until she lay flush against him, her fingers spearing through his golden hair. Through the wave of sensations he had sent washing through her body, Elizabeth felt the pressure of his arousal pressed low against her belly.

It was as if someone had just dumped a bucket of ice cold water all over her.

_Shit_. For a moment, she couldn't think. She just froze on top of him, his mouth still doing wonderful things to her unresponsive lips.

Damn it, what the hell was she doing? Try as she might, Elizabeth couldn't come up with an answer. What in the world was she _thinking_? Again, her brain cramped out on her as Jason's large hand splayed against the small of her back to hold her in place against him.

Elizabeth shivered, and this time not with pleasure. She knew what they were doing – what they were going to do. And it scared her. Jason might know what he was doing, but she didn't – and she didn't know if she wanted to find out tonight.

It was too soon. She couldn't handle this right now. A sharp intake of air helped kick her mind in gear – again, things had spiraled out of control. Damn it, she was such a tease. How the hell did she get herself into this mess?

Tears welled up in her eyes as she broke the kiss. Jason looked up at her, surprised, and Elizabeth blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear the moisture that pooled inside her lids. It didn't work.

And Jason had noticed. Even in his slightly inebriated state, he still noticed.

"Elizabeth?"

"I-I-Jason, I have to go." She sniffed back her tears and abruptly pushed herself off of him. He let her get up, didn't fight her at all, but surprised her by rising with her.

"Elizabeth-"

She scooped her leather jacket up off the floor and hastily fixed her bra strap and tank top straps with trembling fingers. "I-I really should be going – I c-can't be here right now."

"Wait, Elizabeth, please-" Jason moved to stop her but Elizabeth was quicker. She planted the palms of her hands against his chest and lightly pushed him back. The pressure, in combination with his fatigue and hazy mind, knocked him on to his back on the bed.

"Get some sleep, Jason."

He rose again, slower this time, and determined to stop her so that they could talk, but Elizabeth had the upper hand. She pushed him back firmly this time, and after waiting to make sure he didn't move, she didn't move. Jason's eyes were already hooded and half-closed as she backed up toward the stairs, checking one last time to make sure he was okay.

When she was sure, Elizabeth raced up the steps and out of the door. She unlocked her little Acura and got in quickly, but just sat there in the driveway for a few minutes before she realized that she had better get home. After staring blankly at her keys for a few seconds, Elizabeth finally remembered to insert them in the ignition and she was soon flying down the roads with reckless abandon, ready to get home.

Her grandfather was sitting in the living room when she arrived, and was on his feet the instant he heard her keys in the lock.

"Bethie!" His light blue eyes were anxious and worried. "Where were you? Sonny must have called three times asking if you made it home, and-" He stopped when he took in the weary look in her eyes. "Honey, are you all right?"

"Just fine, Pappy," Elizabeth assured him. He bought it, as he should have – after all, she had been rehearsing it all the way home. "Just tired."

"Oh." Steve tucked his hands into the pockets of his striped pajama bottoms. "Was everything else all right?"

Elizabeth nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"Well?" He watched her shrug off her coat and shuck her shoes. "What happened?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "Nothing, really. I showed up at Jake's, guilted everyone else into leaving, and then Sonny and I got Jason out. We stood around in the parking lot for a little while, and then I dropped Jason home."

Steve nodded. "But where were you, honey?"

Elizabeth sighed and leaned one hand against the closet door. "I just…drove around for a little while, Pappy," she lied. It was easier than telling him the truth – that she had gotten Jason all fired up and then split like a Welsh rabbit. "I'm sorry, I know I should have called, but I just…I…I don't know."

Her grandfather sighed. "It's all right, sweetheart," he murmured as he drew her close for a great big bear hug. "It's okay. Why don't you just go to bed, honey? You look beat."

Elizabeth didn't bother to argue with him and trooped up the stairs to the refuge of her bedroom. She stood in the center of it and looked around helplessly, unsure of what to do. After a few minutes, she wearily shucked her clothes and wiggled into her pajamas, slipping her _Moulin Rouge_ soundtrack into her stereo and grabbing her telephone.

It was late, but she knew the person she was calling would still be up. The phone rang twice before it was answered by a perky feminine voice.

_"Hi, Baldwin and Webber residence. Dominique speaking."_

"Dom?" Elizabeth's voice was soft and teary. "Is Sarah there?"

Dom must have sensed that something was wrong because her voice lost its typical animation. _"Sure, sweetie, hold on just one sec."_

Elizabeth leaned back into the silk pillows against her headboard and waited for Sarah to come to the phone. It was late, all right, but her sister was still up as usual. The girl was a night owl, just like Brenda. Elizabeth would have called her best friend, but she was hesitant to do so because she knew that Bren was busy with her mom. And she wouldn't dream of calling Sonny about this, no matter how close they were. And even though she was exceptionally tight with Sydney and Jenny, she wasn't sure that she wanted to talk to them about something as private as this.

It was times like this that Elizabeth Webber was so grateful for the fact that she had such a wonderful big sister.


	23. Here's To The Night

**Here's To The Night**

_Saturday, the 22nd of May, and Sunday the 23_

Jason Morgan awoke the following morning to an empty house. His parents were still away on their trip, his grandparents were still in Cape Cod, and AJ was still at Chloe's, where he would be until Monday night. The bright afternoon sunlight invaded his dingy grotto in the basement, informing him that he had indeed managed to sleep through most of the day.

His mouth felt and tasted like an old gym sock, and each muscle in Jason's body groaned as he fought to lift himself up into a sitting position. Thankfully, his legs weren't that big of a problem anymore – it was his arm that was suddenly giving him trouble.

Jason rubbed the muscles surrounding his rotator cuff, wondering how in the world they got so sore. The alarm clock his mother had set on the end table for him told him that it was already two o'clock, but all Jason wanted to do was pull his sheets up over his head and go back to sleep.

Damn. What the hell had happened last night?

Shaking his head briskly, Jason looked longingly at the remote that sat perched on the edge of the coffee table. Such a long ways away… After squirming a bit he managed to grasp it and was soon flipping on the television. But as soon as the sound of the daytime soap blared into the room, the blinding headache that brought white flashes to Jason's eyes had him flipping it right back off again.

_Damnation. _

Man, he was messed up.

With a groan, Jason tossed the remote onto the floor and sank right back into bed, too tired and wounded to move. His body felt as if it had been run over by a truck, which had then reversed to do it all over again a couple hundred times more, and he couldn't for the life of him seem to remember what had caused it.

Jason spent the next hour in bed, alternating between a fuzzy consciousness and a vague slumber. Neither did him any good – when he was awake, he wanted to be asleep, and when he was asleep he kept waking up, especially since even the slightest rotation had the muscles in his arm screaming bloody murder.

He was just slipping into another fit of slumber when somewhere far, far away, the phone rang. Jason had successfully roused himself when it rang again, and this time it felt like a shrill siren exploding directly at his ear. It took him a long, excruciatingly painful moment to find his cell phone, and his voice was thick and groggy when he lifted the slim silver device to his ear and spoke.

"Morgan."

_"Yo! Jase!" _

He frowned. "Luke?"

_"Yeah, it's me. How you feeling, buddy?" _

Jason mustered up all of his strength and fought to keep his sudden nausea at bay as he pushed himself up on his elbow. He squinted at the digital clock on the end table, finally deciphering that it was indeed four o'clock in the afternoon. God damn. "What the hell happened last night?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. _"You mean you don't remember?" _

"No."

_"You don't remember anything?" _

Jason scowled. "Not much."

_"Really?" _

"Spencer-"

_"OK, OK," _Luke repeated hastily. _"What do you remember?" _

Jason dragged a hand over his face, trying to shake himself out of the hazy stupor that had laid claim to his body. "Uh, I remember hanging out at Jake's with you guys last night…"

_"Yeah," _Luke replied encouragingly. _"That's right – our post-AP party. There was a whole group of us – you, me, Tags, Michael Q, Brend-o, and a whole bunch of other guys. What else?" _

Jason's head throbbed. "We were playing pool and…drinking."

_"That's probably why you feel like shit," _Luke chose to point out helpfully.

Shifting the phone to the other hand with a considerable amount of difficulty, Jason scowled at the television. He did feel like shit. Damn it, he was totally hung over, and even worse than the last time. Jesus Christ. "Yeah – but how come _you_ sound fine?"

He could hear his friend and classmate chuckle. _"Dude, I've got a system. Guaranteed to chase away hangovers. You, my friend, are a total newbie. That's what you are." _

Jason snorted. Yeah, he was a newbie all right.

_"But anyway, go on - what else do you remember?" _

"I remember that…" Jason's voice trailed off as he thought hard, trying to recall the specifics of last night. The details remained hazy and ambiguous, but if he really concentrated, he could kind of piece it together. Damn it. He hated feeling like this – he hated not remembering what he had done the night before. It made him feel weak; like he had lost control and just gone completely insane. And in a sense, he supposed that he had. "Uh…weren't we playing pool or something?"

There was some crackling on Luke's end of the line. _"Yeah – me and you were totally hussling Quartermaine's pocket money away from him. It was awesome." _

But Jason wasn't listening. "I don't remember anything after that – just that I was fighting someone. What happened?"

_"Well, some guy came in, drunk off his butt, and starting messing with Brendan who was over by the bar and then you ran up to tell him to fuck off and then the guy honed in on you – and before we knew it, we had a huge barfight on our hands." _

Jason listened carefully, trying to put his friend's words into a mental image. It didn't work. "Oh. See, I remember fighting with him, but I don't remember the reason. I beat him, right?"

_"Yeah, we all got him out of there." _

"But I was fighting again – I remember that much."

_"Well, yeah, because one of his boyfriends started in on you and tried to get you all riled up." _

"Oh." He frowned at a small spot on the wall in front of him. "Then what?"

There was a nervous pause, and Jason had a bad feeling about the next bit of information his friend was going to supply. _"Um, you're not going to like this…"_

"Tell me anyway."

Luke coughed nervously. _"Well, Sonny had already been around but when the second guy started in on you, we couldn't do anything. So he, um, called Beth." _

Jason's heart skipped a beat and plummeted into his stomach at Luke's hesitant admission. "What?"

_"And, er, she came down and said she'd call the cops and the guy ran away. And then she chased the rest of us out." _

Jason let his head slam down on the nearby end table. The pain felt well-deserved, so he did it again. "Fuck."

_"Woah, don't kill yourself over there, Morgan." _

"Damn it, Luke – I – what the hell was she doing there? There was no fucking need to call her!"

_"Hey, look, it was a last resort. But it turned out to be a good idea because she cleaned everything up in about five minutes. She threatened the dude out and she guilted the rest of us into going home and then I'm assuming she and Sonny dropped you off at your place. Dude, by the way, how sweet is it that your parents aren't in town? You totally got away with everything!" _

Despite the fact that his stomach was turning and his head was swimming, Jason wanted to ram his fist through something at that moment. _Elizabeth_. Damn it, even she had been involved in that mess. Damn it all to Hell. She had absolutely no business showing up at that seedy rat hole and cleaning up his messes for him – if something had happened to her…

There was some abrupt crackling on Luke's end and his friend's voice was soon back, though more hurried than before. _"Listen, man, I've gotta jet, but I just wanted to call and make sure you were still alive. Take care, okay? I know you're pissed that Beth had to get involved, but, seriously, dude, it was okay. I mean, I'm not trying to get in your face about this or anything, but from what I remember, she was really worried about you. Like, she kept checking your bruises and your eye and stuff. She wasn't angry or anything, so I guess I figure that it's all good, you know? Anyway, don't beat yourself up over this, okay? I'll check up on you later, man. Over and out." _

Jason clicked his cell phone off without saying goodbye and fairly collapsed back onto the bed. He felt sick. He felt broken. He felt entirely numb.

Elizabeth had showed up at that seedy little dive to bail him out of trouble. She had threatened some creep that was probably twice her height and three times her weight, and even then she had wanted to take care of him and what he presumed to be his numerous injuries. After everything he had done to her, she still came and bailed him out when he needed it. Whatever had happened last night, he was sure it could have gone down a lot worse. If a cop came into the joint and saw a bunch of obviously underage drinkers, he would have dragged them to the pokey first and asked questions later. And if that had happened, Elizabeth would have been dragged down with them. So many things could have happened – terrible things that could have really hurt her – and Jason felt weak as a wave of gratitude washed over him. Nothing had happened.

She hadn't been hurt.

The thought should have comforted him, it should have put him at ease. And he should have left it at that. But there was something at the back of his mind, some quiet but insistent nagging doubt, which forced him to stay on the issue. He didn't know what it was, he didn't know what it meant, but he did know that he didn't like it one bit.

The afternoon bled into the evening, but Jason still didn't have any answers. But by then he felt well enough to get out of bed, and so he did and spent the next half hour scrounging around for food. Finally slapping together a peanut butter and honey sandwich and grabbing a glass of milk along with a couple painkillers, Jason trudged back down to what had become his permanent grotto in the basement. Even though he had a perfectly nice bedroom upstairs with a firm mattress and all his clothes and books, he still found himself unable to leave the now slightly dingy basement. The dust had been gathering over the days, and the carpet hadn't been vacuumed. He usually kept the shades down, which plunged the semi-cluttered room into a musky dimness. It was unusually fitting – the state of the room seemed to resemble to Jason the state of his own life at the moment.

He had always been one of those kids that refused to get caught up in the moment, to make a mountain out of a molehill as so many of his peers had a habit of doing. Elizabeth would jokingly refer to him as one of the few surviving Pyrrhonian Stoics – he detached himself from the drama of everyday life and just took things as they came. That had been his philosophy for so long with so many things – school, friends, girls, life in general. While everyone else freaked out because they lost their first home game or because someone else was wearing the same exact dress at Homecoming, he always took everything in stride and refused to let melodramatics or self-pity overcome him.

It was funny how easily he slipped right back in.

And if he wasn't so busy moping, he would have laughed.

He was in a slump. Stuck in a rut. And if he knew how to get himself out of his current pathetic state of affairs, he would have snapped to it in an instant.

But deep inside, that same nagging voice from earlier reminded him that he did indeed know how to get out of the dingy grotto of his life. All he had to do was find Elizabeth and finally _talk_ to her. All he had to do was get her to listen to him long enough to explain that he was wrong and had made a huge mistake and didn't want this to go on anymore. And if she still cared about him enough to stick up for him when he was in trouble, the odds were pretty good that she'd at least be willing to lend him an ear before demanding all-out groveling.

But the truth of the matter was that he just couldn't bring himself to do that.

Jason knew he was being stupid, knew it was the same stupidity that had landed him in this mess in the first place. But he just couldn't help himself.

Maybe it was pride, maybe it was embarrassment, maybe it was just his sheer inability to come to grips with all of the stupid things he had done that should have chased her away. Maybe it was one or all of those things that, for the first time, made him fearful to pick up the phone and talk to her.

Nighttime arrived with that same insecurity and embarrassment as its escort, and Jason stayed in his consigned location in the basement he had once liked, but that seemed more like a prison now. His mother called from Chicago and whiled away twenty minutes with idle chit chat, and even though Jason usually shied away from his parents' ministrations and doting attention, he found himself glad to hear her voice again.

The conversation lifted his spirits slightly. It was enough to make him pick up the phone and call their house in Massachusetts just to hear his grandmother's voice. The same profoundly unexplainable feeling of security that always accompanied his grandmother's voice washed over him the minute she picked up and asked warmly who it was. His grandparents often went away to the family's place on Cape Cod whenever they felt they needed a change of scenery, and Jason realized just then how much he really missed their presence in the suddenly all-too-large house.

Jason lost track of how long he was on the phone with his grandmother. They talked about everything and nothing at the same time. She wanted to know what he was doing, if he had eaten, how the weather was, how his legs were since he was almost completely well. He in turn listened as she spoke of how the weather was simply divine on the Cape, and how she had woken up with the sunset this morning and the radiant colors made her wish for the hundredth time that arthritis hadn't taken away her ability to paint. But the conversation was cut short by his grandfather who had apparently finished showering and was ready to take his wife out to dinner. After exchanging a few words with the old man, Jason let the two of them get on with their evening and resigned himself to sulking at the blaring television screen.

Despite the fact that he had done nothing all day that required any sort of expenditure of energy, Jason soon fell into a deep but fitful slumber. He slept throughout the entire night, but it was the type of sleep that really didn't do much good. Even though Jason was one of the rare people that really didn't dream, _something_ kept him tossing and turning even in his slumber.

The night was a warm one and as the hours passed, Jason managed to first twist up the sheets around him in a tight and suffocating cocoon before practically falling off the bed in his attempt to extricate himself from the vice-like grip of the cotton. A thunderstorm erupted in the wee hours of the morning and a hazy, slimy mist invaded the dark basement through the windows that Jason had left open. The water dribbled in through the wire mesh screen and pooled on the windowsill before the surface tension broke and it dripped onto the carpet. The thunder rumbled, the lightning snaked a violent path across the already turbulent skies, and the wind raked over the shrubbery and trees, bending them according to its capricious will. Still, Jason slept on.

The storm worsened as the morning twilight chased away the thick and oppressive darkness. In the street, a few boughs had lost their fight against the wind and now lay helplessly on the pavement. Several of the plastic recycling containers his neighbors used had blown a few houses down and didn't show any signs of stopping their unplanned escape.

A thunderbolt hurled from the heavens was the first thing to jar Jason from his fitful sleep, and the crackling boom had him snapping out of bed, at first confused as to where he was and what was happening. The rain had changed direction at some point in the night and was no longer pouring onto the windowsill, but the cold, damp fog still stretched out in the room like a cloak.

Jason sighed and dropped back down onto the pillows, pulling the sheets he had kicked away in the night around him once more. The thunder grumbled somewhere in the distance, dark and dangerous and foreboding, yet still managing to lull Jason back into a soft, hazy doze. Lightning flashed, illuminating the room, and Jason's eyes flew open at the burst of silver.

And he remembered.

The memory of his actions the night before hit him like a ton of bricks, threatening to crush his chest until it became physically taxing for him to draw breath in the suddenly congested, damp basement grotto.

_Holy shit. _

_What the fuck had he done? _

Jason's arms trembled as he pushed himself up into a sitting position and the breath he drew in was weak and shaky. Jesus Christ. Images from last night in this same basement assaulted him mercilessly, playing over and over in his head. Holy Hell.

_What the fuck had he done? _

His forehead fell against his drawn up knees and the dull ache that reverberated upon contact echoed through his head. _God damn_. He had kissed her. Mauled her. Pushed her jacket to the floor and let his hands wantonly explore her soft, curvaceous body. He had tugged at the straps of her form-fitting black top, slid his fingers under the slender elastic straps of her bra. _Fuck_. He'd been all over her – he could literally see himself as the images kept repeating themselves, over and over and over again until he wanted to scream. _Holy shit_. He remembered her eyes pooling with silver tears, the heartbreaking way her lower lip trembled. He remembered how her footsteps had echoed up the stairs as she all but fled from him.

_Motherfucker_.

He'd never forgive himself if he had hurt her.

The thunder rumbled again, this time more forceful and demanding, but Jason didn't move. His body was even number, even more nauseous than it had been when he woke up the day before. Then, it was the lingering effects of the alcohol that made him sick. Now, it was the memory of his inability to control himself with her that made the bile rise in his throat.

And there it was. Any prayer he ever had of talking to her and finally opening up and hoping that she'd forgive him had just vanished faster than his self-control two nights ago. That's what he got for thinking with the small head.

With an angry, strangled sigh, Jason collapsed back onto the pillows and pulled the sheets up over his head. Damnation. He was royally fucked.

The morning passed slowly, and Jason couldn't even bring himself to get up out of bed to rustle up some breakfast. The sick, disgusted feeling in the pit of his stomach was enough to tide him over to lunch, which was when he decided that he probably should get up and find himself some food. Even perverted, reckless low-life pond scum horny bastards had to eat _something_.

During lunch, he resumed his game of calling himself every name in the book. After what he had done, Elizabeth probably wouldn't even want to talk to him again. He could just imagine what would happen on Monday – he'd show up at school and at the classes that they shared and she'd painstakingly avoid him. Sonny and Brenda would probably worm the whole story from her, and then Sonny would come after him again and really beat his head in. And this time, Jason reflected that he'd let him. The school year would pass painfully, since it would be impossible for them to avoid each other forever. They'd show up at the same games, the same senior meetings, the same class photos and gown fittings for graduation, and then they'd be graduating together. They'd attend the same graduation parties, the same summer bashes, the same going away parties. They'd mince around each other until they both left for school – she to Columbia, he to Boston University. And then they'd stop seeing each other altogether for the next ten years or so. And then they'd show up at class reunions and still try to avoid each other.

It was a very depressing thought, and Jason didn't even try to stop himself from sulking over it. He _never_ sulked. He never thought ahead and dreamed up scenarios like this, just like he never thought about the past and wished he could have done things differently.

He never used to do those things – he never used to do a lot of things. But ever since this whole thing started…Elizabeth was the first person that made him look back on his actions and wish with all his might that he had the power to change what he had done. He should have talked to her the moment he got back from the doctors' office that day. He should have hung out with her after school that day instead of blowing her off. If she wanted to mother him and take care of him, then damn it, he should have let her. Anything was better than what was happening now. Anything was better than the scenario he had dreamed up for their future.

Jason stared down at his empty plate without really seeing it. He didn't want to go down to the basement. He didn't want to go down there and go back to bed or watch the TV in the dark. Damn it.

It was one o'clock when he finally left the kitchen table and flung himself down on the couch in the living room. It was leather and it was cold, and he soon abandoned the idea of trying to get comfortable on it and left in search of better accommodations. Ambling down the hallway toward the den, Jason stopped when he reached the large staircase that led up to the second floor. The last time he had used those stairs was as he ran down from his room to get to school on the day he had fallen while asking Elizabeth to prom. He stood there for a long moment, just staring up at the carpeted stairs.

Finally, he grasped the railing with a clammy hand and trudged on up. The carpet was soft underneath his bare feet and the stairs didn't even creak from his weight. Reaching the top, Jason surveyed the area before bypassing his own room and going straight for his grandmother's drawing room.

It was her favorite room in the house – it was where she sat to read and write and listen to her old records. It was the room where she had taught him how to knit all those years ago when his parents had forced him to take Chloe to that summer camp. His grandmother was a big fan of music – instrumental, mostly – so Jason often played for her in the room. That was why his clarinet case stood leaning against the wall by the full-length mirror, no doubt collecting dust since band practice had long since ended.

He stood in the center of the room, gazing out of the bay windows at the neighborhood. The sky was still gray, but the rain had thankfully stopped and the storm had passed. The thick fog that had settled over the area was slowly but steadily dissipating and the wind had also died down.

With a sigh, Jason flung himself down on his grandmother's favorite rocking chair and reached for the cream-colored afghan she had knitted herself before her arthritis got really bad. The wool smelled of peppermint and his grandfather's pipe, and Jason draped it over his legs as he rocked slowly, still gazing out the window. If only his grandmother were here, instead of off in Massachusetts. He really wanted to talk to her. He would have called her up again, but she had mentioned the night before that she and his grandfather would be going to visit their old friends from the country club in Beacon Hill, and that they would be staying with them for two days more.

The minutes passed slowly, and Jason didn't even realize how drowsy he was as he fell into a soothing sleep for which the term "coma" seemed like a gross understatement. He woke up in a little more than two hours feeling refreshed and warm. It was nice where he sat, curled up on the rocking chair under his grandmother's blanket, and he didn't want to move.

So he didn't.

Instead, he just sat there and let his gaze wander lazily around the room. His grandmother was partial to flowers, all sorts of them, and fresh bouquets arrived at the Morgan house every week in the spring, summer and fall months. In the winter, she was satisfied with the aesthetic beauty of the artificial flowers his mother bought. There were red tulips in a tall, slim glass vase on the table where he sat, the most vivid splash of color in the elegantly decorated room in which he sat. The walls were a soft cream that matched the tan wood of the furniture and the light color of the carpet.

The same photographs had hung in this room ever since he was a little boy, and the only additions his grandmother made were pieces of the utmost significance. His framed certificate for being a National Merit Finalist was hung proudly next to a picture of him as a baby sitting in his grandfather's lap with his grandmother's hands on the old man's shoulders. Both of them looked so young then – their hair was darker, their eyes were brighter, their skin smoother.

There were several pictures – old and worn with time – of the two of them from their younger years. There was a picture from when his grandfather had taken his wife and young son to the circus, a picture of his grandmother with her League of Women Voters group. There was an old photo of his grandfather with the rest of the trustees at the bank, and a large picture of the two of them when ELM, standing of course for Edward and Lila Morgan, had been founded. There was a photo of them at his parents' wedding, and a photo of the four of them when his big sister Tracy was first born. Standing tall on his grandmother's ornate dresser was a family picture of all of them – his grandparents, his parents, little AJ missing his two front teeth, Tracy with her newly-done perm, and him with his baseball cap in his hands. The most recent photo was of Tracy and Edward and Lila when his big sister had graduated from high school many years ago. And he'd be willing to bet his Jeep that the next photo to go up on the wall would be one of him and his grandparents the day that he himself left the hallways of PC High behind him.

The room was a shrine to everything that Lila loved. And maybe that was why Jason felt so safe and loved himself whenever he joined her there. His grandmother had the richest life of anyone he knew – and he hoped that one day he'd be surrounded by as much love as she was.

That was the one thing he loved most about her – she was never too busy to talk to people. She had been that way since she was a little girl, his grandfather had told her. She was a champion speller and orator at her all-girls Catholic school, and was the president of several organizations at her all-girls college. And that day when Edward Morgan had seen Lila Moore at the garden party, he had instantly been taken with her confidence and charm. Lila had made many friends over the years, all of whom loved her. To this day, she still kept in touch with those of her former peers that were still alive, and she and Edward were often jetting out to spend the evening with good friends.

His grandmother had quite a legacy already, Jason reflected as his eyes swept over the ornate jewelry boxes that lined her dresser. Hordes of friends that demanded her and Edward's company, a loving family that doted on her.

Her picture was on the end table by the red tulips, smiling graciously out at him. Jason dropped his chin into his hand, gazing back. She looked happy.

Damn, how he wished she was here so that he could talk to her.

She could probably tell him what he should do. She always did give the best advice. But even as he sat there and wished she was around to guide him, he knew what she'd say. _"Jason, my dear, you need to get off your bottom and go talk to that dear girl. And don't you show your face here until you have, do I make myself clear? There's a good boy. Get to it, my darling." _

He smirked. Yeah, that was exactly what she'd say. But damn it, he just couldn't do that. He couldn't show his face to her again – not after what he had done to her. Jason leaned back in the chair, rocking once more, and wiggled his toes in the thick carpet. Damnation. Right back to square one.

Suddenly, he heard a beeping noise coming from somewhere in the room. Surprised, he strained his ears and tried to pinpoint its location. It didn't take long – AJ had left his Scooby Doo wristwatch on the dresser and now the alarm was going off. Why his brother had set the alarm for three-thirty in the afternoon, he had no clue. Reluctantly, he picked himself up from his comfortable seat in the rocker and lumbered over to the object that was emitting the offensive noise. He shut it off fairly easily and was about to set it down when he noticed something else that his grandmother had left lying on the dresser.

It was a silver necklace boasting a dazzling sapphire pendant that his grandfather had surprised her with on their fiftieth anniversary several years ago. The sapphire was a special gemstone for the two of them; blue had always been his grandfather's favorite color, and he would always say that it matched his wife's beautiful eyes – the same ones Jason had inherited – and it was the same color that she had been wearing at that garden party when he had first laid eyes on her.

Jason smiled and tentatively fingered the jewel. Its deep color instantly reminded him of another blue necklace – the one that Elizabeth told him was good luck as she cinched it behind his neck before the state track conferences.

The memory made him sick to his stomach once more. That necklace, that one simple hemp necklace, meant so much to him that day. He wondered if Elizabeth really knew how he felt when she said that she believed in him – didn't she know what it meant it to him? What _she_ meant to him? And now, because he was such an inconceivable ass, they wouldn't get the chance to make any more memories together.

And that was how he returned to his previous state of depressed and sullen sulking. But his grandmother's face, smiling hopefully back at him, had him feeling guilty about his cowardice and he soon retired to the basement. No sooner had he folded the bed back into the sofa and fixed the cushions than his cell, which he had left lying on the floor, rang.

"Morgan."

_"Dude. What's going on?" _

Jason sighed and slumped back onto the fat throw cushions his mother kept on the dark green sofa. "Not much, Luke."

_"How ya feeling?" _

"Better."

_"Good, good! So…Yeah. What's going on?" _

Jason rolled his eyes. "Not much."

He heard his friend chuckle. _"My, aren't we talkative?" _

Jason snorted but didn't reply, and pretty soon Luke continued.

_"You showing up at school tomorrow? Or are you thinking of just taking it easy?" _

"I'll be there."

_"Oh, ok. I'm not sure if I will – my old man has tickets for a ball game, and I'm thinking I'd rather take off with him than show up when I don't have to. I mean, it's not like we're going to be doing anything much tomorrow – we're done with our APs, after all." _

"Yeah."

_"Oh, wait, speaking of which – me, Johnny and Beth are supposed to rehearse again tomorrow for our bit in the talent show. If you see her, can you tell her that I might not be there?" _

Jason scowled into the phone and reached for the remote. "I don't think I can help you there, Spencer."

_"Why not?" _

He could hear the confusion in Luke's voice and didn't understand it one bit. "After what happened Friday night? No way, man."

_"Oh, please," _Luke scoffed. _"You didn't do anything that bad." _

Jason fought to keep his temper in check, reminding himself that Luke didn't know what transpired after Elizabeth had dropped him off. No one did, for that matter, except him and Elizabeth. "What I _did_ do was bad enough."

His friend sighed. _"Look, she showed up, right? If that doesn't prove that she still cares about you, Morg, I don't know what to tell you." _

"Don't tell me anything," Jason sighed. "Because it won't help the situation any."

_"What do you mean?" _

"I think we're over."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line, and Jason began to wonder if his friend was still there.

"Spence?"

_"What does she think about this?" _

"What do you mean?"

_"Does she agree? Does she think you're over, too?" _

"I-I haven't talked to her."

There was another pause and Jason waited with baited breath for Luke to speak, another action that suddenly struck him as odd – since when did he care what people thought of him? Since when did he care about their opinions?

_"Talk to her, Morgan." _

"Luke-"

_"No. I'm not kidding on this one. Talk to her, Morgan. Don't just decide you're over and done with without talking to her." _

"Look-"

_"No, you look. What happened to you, man?" _

Jason's brows furrowed. "What the hell are you talking about? Nothing happened to me."

_"Yeah? What happened to the Jason Morgan I used to know? Dude, you were always so freaking open and honest that I used to hate you because you gave the rest of us guys a bad name. All the girls thought you were awesome – "Jason doesn't keep secrets", "Jason tells it like it is", "Jason's not domineering at all", blah blah blah. Do you know how bad I wanted to hurt you?" _

"What does that have to do with-"

_"So what happened to that, huh? Since when do you make decisions for other people? Do you remember how much I hassled you for it? How I used to tease you and say you had no backbone sometimes just because you wouldn't make decisions for other people – even the small, meaningless ones? Decisions, I mean – small, meaningless decisions, not people. Well, to be totally straight with you, man, I thought that was the coolest thing about you. Very…Zen. Does that make sense?" _

"Zen?"

_"Yeah. Everything just was_ with you. Lots of people thought you just didn't care, but we knew you better. You gave so much importance to what other people thought that you refused to make even the smallest decision for them. So here's my question: why is Beth any different? Doesn't she matter?"

"Look, Spencer-"

_"Talk to her, Morgan. Let her decide how she feels about it." _

"I can't do that."

_"Wuss." _

"What?"

_"You heard me – you're too chickenshit to talk to her. Man, if that isn't somethin'. Who woulda thought, the Golden Boy being too afraid to talk to Wee Little Beth Web?" _

Jason glowered at the wall. "I am _not_ afraid."

_"Bullshit." _

"I'm not!"

_"Prove it. Talk to her." _

"I can't do that, Luke. Just drop it, would you?"

_"Fine. But that sucks, man. I still think you're making a mistake." _

"Later, Spence." Without waiting for an answer, Jason clicked off the phone and dropped it on the coffee table. Lazily, he reached for the remote and began flipping through the movie channels, hoping for something interesting enough to take his mind off of the soap opera that was his life.

_"All right, now we gotta make-a sure that the gun's in place. I don't want my baby brother coming outta the bathroom with only his-a dick in his hands."_

_"You got it, Sonny. It'll be there." _

Jason perked up at the familiar dialogue. _The Godfather_. He was just getting ready to settle into his favorite movie – after Part II, that is – when he remembered that the last time he had watched the movie was when Elizabeth was hanging out with him in the basement. His excitement effectively squashed, Jason flipped off the television and lay back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling.

The rain had stopped many hours ago, but he could hear the gutters dripping fat droplets of water that _pitter-pattered_ on the wet ground outside. Even that reminded him of something – that time that he had walked Elizabeth to her car under that big umbrella of hers and she kept being blown away by the wind until he wrapped one arm around her waist.

Damn.

Every little thing around him, no matter how seemingly innocuous, reminded him of her. He just couldn't escape from all the memories they had made together in the few short months that they had been together. The time he scooped her up off the ground when Johnny got a little too rough, the balloon she had given him, all their trips out for lunch, that wonderful road trip to Clover, even though they had been arrested, and everything since then. He had grown so used to her company, and now that she wasn't around it was as if he himself couldn't function right. Nothing seemed right anymore. He didn't just want her around – he _needed_ her around.

Jason sighed at the ceiling and let his eyelids droop closed. He did. He needed her. It didn't matter that she didn't seem to need him – all he knew was that he loved her, had loved her for a long time, and he was at his best when she was around. She made him a better person, and he liked who he was when he was with her. None of the others in his string of female companions had made him feel this way, that was for sure. He knew that the minute she tied that balloon around her wrist on Valentine's Day.

None of the other girls made him nervous – in a good way – and none of the others made the butterflies in his stomach dance with anticipation whenever she came around. He never spent class time thinking about the others; he never daydreamed about them when he was running after school with the rest of his former teammates. With his former flings, he thought of them as just that – flings. He didn't want to get serious. After all, he was just in high school. He was young, handsome, intelligent, and an athlete; he had it all going for him. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him wanting to enjoy everything that entailed.

But when Elizabeth came along, when she stumbled – literally – into his world and for the first time made him sit up and notice, something told him that this was different. He couldn't put his finger on it, and had initially decided that it was just because she was different from the other girls he hung out with. She was short and sweet and admittedly nerdy, and she didn't hang exclusively with the teenagers, keep up with the latest trends, spend her free time shopping or gabbing on the phone, and because she wasn't hesitant to tell guys like him when they were full of shit.

As the weeks wore on and she let him get to know her, that changed. He still believed that, but it wasn't the secret to the power she had over him. He didn't know what exactly made him fall hard for her in the first place, except he loved the way she made him feel. With a few simple words or a soft smile or touch, she made him feel like the most incredible guy in the world, like there was nothing in the world he couldn't do. And the funniest part was that he believed it, too.

Somewhere along the line, he had let go of everything he used to think about women and dating. He didn't crave the excitement that came with dating three different tall, busty college girls every week; somehow, Elizabeth became his pinnacle. Something in his mind and in his heart told him that she was the ultimate woman, the one that he was meant to find his way to, and that was the instant he had fallen in love with her.

His brows furrowed into a deep V as he thought. He was in love with her. And yet he was the only one who knew that.

That didn't seem right.

Slowly, he lifted himself up onto his elbows. Maybe Luke was right. Boy, it felt strange even _thinking_ that. But maybe he was. Was he really ready to give up everything he had ever felt about her, give up every single memory he had made with her, over something like this? Sure, it was something serious, but in any case he should hold out hope that they could work through it.

He was reaching for the phone before he could talk himself out of it. Her number was on speed-dial, the third button. His fingers shook slightly as he jabbed on the touchpad, and then the phone began to ring.

Steve Hardy was in the kitchen fixing himself an afternoon snack when the phone rang. Sighing, he set down the mustard and wiped his fingers on a dish towel as he walked over to the telephone.

"Hello?"

"Uh, hi…Mr. Hardy?"

"That's me. Who is this?"

"It's…it's Jason. Jason Morgan."

Steve's eyebrows flew up. "Jason! Jason, of course! How are you, boy?"

"Good, thank you, sir. Um, would Elizabeth happen to be around?"

Steve switched the phone to the other ear and poked his head out of the kitchen to holler for his granddaughter. She replied back from upstairs that she was coming, and he put his mouth to the speaker again. "She'll be right here."

"Thank you, Mr. Hardy." There was an awkward silence on Jason's part as Steve heard his granddaughter's footsteps echoing on the second floor, but before he could break it, the older man spoke up again.

"She's right here, Jason," he said calmly. "But before I give it to her, I just wanted to tell you something."

Jason frowned, swallowing loudly. "Y-Yes, sir?"

"Son, there are a lot of people who care about you. So if you ever – and I mean _ever_ do something stupid like drinking before you're of age, I'm going to hunt you down myself and beat you with a shoe. Do I make myself clear, boy?"

Jason's mouth fell open at Mr. Hardy's words. "Um, yes, yes, sir, you do."

"Good boy," Steve beamed. "Here's Elizabeth." He handed the phone off to his granddaughter who had just walked into the room, and ignored her when she asked who it was before accepting.

Elizabeth frowned as her grandfather resumed making his sandwich, whistling some old Bing Crosby tune or another as he slathered the mustard on his turkey. "Hello?"

"Elizabeth?"

Her heart skipped a beat. "J-Jason?"

His voice was quiet when he spoke again. "We need to talk. I almost hate to ask, but…can you come over?"


	24. No Bailing

**No Bailing**

_This takes place on Sunday the 23rd of May._

Jason Morgan was jumpy. He might as well have been named Jiminy instead of Jason.

The only sound he heard as he paced up and down the hallway was the kitchen clock, ticking down the seconds until his imminent doom. He had done it. He had called her. Then why did that small victory reward him with only a powerful wave of nausea? What if she didn't listen? What if she didn't care? What if the only reason she agreed to come was to tell him to his face that he was an incorrigible ass-clown and that she wanted to break up? Because if there was anyone that would use the words "incorrigible" and "ass-clown" together, it was Elizabeth; that much was for sure.

The doorbell jarred him out of his silent reverie and Jason nearly jumped a foot in the air. It took him a minute to convince his feet to move, and his palms were sweaty as he reached for the doorknob. He pulled it open slowly and his heart began to thunder in his chest when he laid eyes on her.

She was wearing dark, ragged denim cutoffs and a blue Fraggle Rock t-shirt that brought out her even bluer eyes. Her toes wiggled in her customary brown leather flip-flops as she waited for him to let her in. It took Jason a minute to remember how to breathe and when he did, he sucked in a deep breath and moved aside to let her enter.

"Hi."

Elizabeth crossed her arms uncomfortably over her chest as she stepped into the foyer. "Hey," she replied softly, her eyes darting around the room in an attempt to avoid meeting his.

Jason swallowed thickly. "We have to talk."

Her smile lacked humor. "Yeah, I figured as much."

His bare feet shuffled on the tiles as Jason moved back a step, being sure to let her have as much room as he could. The last thing she needed after his little performance Friday night was to have him breathing down her neck. "You wanna go down to the basement?"

The words were out of his mouth before he realized the meaning behind them, and Jason instantly snapped his mouth shut in regret. _Damn it._ The basement? The place where he had done his damndest to get into her pants, all the while in a drunken haze? What the hell was he _thinking_! She hadn't even been in his house for twenty seconds and already he was screwing everything up. He was about to stammer out something in the way of damage control, but Elizabeth surprised him by removing her flip-flops at the door and walking past him toward the stairs.

"Sure. That's fine."

Again, Jason had to mentally threaten his feet to move. Following her slowly down the stairs gave him a much-needed moment to take her in. Her hair was thrown into a messy ponytail with wisps and strands everywhere; it was his favorite hairstyle of hers, even better than those cute pigtails she had apparently outgrown. He took in her jaunty movements, the way she kept her arms rigid, and his shoulders slumped with remorse. For the first time, she was uncomfortable in his house, around _him_, but typical to her style, she refused to show it.

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, uncertain of where to go from there. Jason squeezed out from behind her and slowly milled around by the couch, hesitant to sit down. Elizabeth must have seen how ridiculous the situation was because the next thing he knew, Jason heard her huff and she was making a beeline for the couch and pulling him down on it with her.

"OK," she started, brushing her hair out of her face as she crossed her legs on the dark green sofa. Jason was seated across from her, and it took a minute for the surprise to wear off and for him to find a more comfortable position in which to sit. "So let's talk. What do you want to talk about? The weather? Sports?"

The corner of his mouth hooked up. "Elizabeth…"

"Not a sports guy, huh?" she asked quickly, twiddling her fingers frenetically in her lap. "Weather, then. There's an interesting cold front moving in over Canada and I think we'll see some heavy but scattered precip-"

Jason couldn't help it when his face broke into a smirk and he reached forward and covered Elizabeth's hands with his for just a moment, long enough to get her to shut up about Canada. "Elizabeth, we have to talk about us." She just stared back at him, doing her best to keep her eyes from revealing anything – it was a skill she had obviously learned from him. "Or, actually, I guess _I_ should do most of the talking." Still nothing. "Right."

They sat in silence for a minute as Jason tried to think of how to say everything and make her understand that, yes, he knew he was a jerk and that he was truly sorry and couldn't bear the thought of losing her. Elizabeth was watching him carefully, searching his face and averted gaze for any sort of sign. She didn't find what she was looking for.

Jason's bright eyes widened when Elizabeth launched herself off the couch and grabbed her hemp purse off the coffee table. "Woah, Elizabeth, where are you-"

"You can't do it, can you?" she burst out when he grabbed her elbow and spun her around in an effort to get her to look at him. "Even now – you can't do it! You can't open your mouth and tell me what's going on." Her eyes remained dry but Jason's heart clenched at the wobble in her voice. "Jason, what kind of relationship is that? When you can't even-"

"I can't run anymore," he blurted, his hands still on her elbows. "I can't run ever again and that's how this whole damn thing started."

She was staring out at him from two big, blue doe eyes, and he could tell that the shock of his words had played some part in extinguishing her initial anger. It was a moment before she spoke and when she did, Elizabeth's voice was soft and controlled. "W-What? When did you find out?"

His sigh was heavy as he let go of her elbows and let his hands drop to the side. She cocked her head to meet his gaze when Jason looked away, and waited patiently until he answered. "A week ago from Friday. Apparently, my legs healed too quickly and incorrectly at that, because the problem is the same."

Elizabeth bit her lip and let her eyes flutter closed for a moment. "I'm sorry."

Jason laughed quietly, a rustling, humorless sound in the quiet basement, and turned away from her toward the couch. "Yeah, I knew you'd say that."

Elizabeth squinted at him as he turned around and leaned against the armrest of the sofa. She didn't think she liked his tone – it was as if he was saying there was something wrong with her being sorry. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," he stated pointedly, "that I don't _want_ you to be sorry."

The petite brunette moved closer, her bare feet making no sound on the thick carpet. "Why not, Jason? Why won't-"

"Because I've been a complete ass, Elizabeth!" he burst out, throwing his hands in the air in emphasis. "You have no reason to feel sorry for me after everything I did – if I had just told you what happened outright and not wallowed in my own self-pity; if I hadn't ditched you time after time and ignored every attempt you and Sonny made to reach out to me. I know that you were trying to help, but I just couldn't accept it at that point in time, and what I did was wrong and juvenile and selfish and you shouldn't-"

"Woah, woah," she whispered, reaching up to cup his chin in her small, cool hands. Jason closed his eyes at the familiar gesture and slowly expelled a long breath. His eyes remained shut and Elizabeth took a minute to just look at him as her thumb gently stroked the light stubble on his strong jaw. He hadn't shaved in a day or so; she could tell that much immediately. "Last time I checked, Morgan, you didn't tell me what to do."

Jason's eyes flew open but words failed him for the moment. He saw the smug gleam in Elizabeth's sapphire orbs as she waited for him to say something, anything, to refute that, but they both knew he couldn't.

"See, that's the thing about us, Jason," she continued softly, her hand still stroking his jaw line tenderly and bringing his face down closer to hers. "I _get_ to care about you, and I _get_ to worry about you no matter what. Jason, I'm _sorry_ that you can't run anymore, but why wouldn't you _tell_ me? Did you think that I wouldn't understand? That I wouldn't be sensitive enough and that I'd brush it aside like it was no big-"

Jason couldn't take the uncertainty in her pained voice anymore and lifted one finger to her lips. "No, no, Elizabeth, that wasn't it at all."

"Then why wouldn't you _tell_ me?"

The anguish in her voice had him feeling like an "incorrigible ass-clown" all over again, and Jason rubbed the back of his neck with one broad hand. "Because…Because I couldn't, Elizabeth. When I showed up at the hospital that day and the Doc told me that my legs weren't healing the way they should and that I'd have even worse pain if I ever ran again, I just…I didn't know how to take it." His eyes were pained and he refused to meet Elizabeth's concerned and empathetic gaze. "I just shut down. I didn't want to talk to anyone, I didn't want to see anyone, I didn't want anyone to tell me that they were sorry, because that was like saying they knew what I was going through and I didn't even know what I was going through. I just didn't want anyone around."

Elizabeth hooked her painted thumbs into the loops of her jeans and looked at her toes, and Jason felt her withdraw mentally and emotionally from him. "Not even me."

It wasn't a question, but he treated as such. Looking straight into her eyes, Jason shrugged his shoulders, a movement so slight it would have been imperceptible to someone who didn't know him inside-out like Elizabeth. "Not even you. _Especially_ not you."

"But why, Jason?" she burst out, and for the first time during their conversation, he could hear the anger in her voice. And what was more, Jason could see it in her expressive eyes. "Why _especially not me_? Try to make me understand here, Jason, because I really don't. Not – not at all."

He sucked in a deep breath and tried to focus. "Because I didn't know what you'd think of me," he whispered back.

The incredulity on her face didn't even come close to that in her voice. "What I'd think of you? Jason, what the hell are you talking about? Is that what you think of me – that I'd ditch you the second I found out that you wouldn't be _Jason Morgan, Track Star_ anymore? That I'd think of you differently because-"

"Don't you get it, Elizabeth?" he burst out, his voice edgy and his eyes wide and imploring. "Track was something I had been involved in since junior high – I've always been the best at it. It's what I _do_. So when I got back from the hospital knowing that I'd never be able to do it again, yeah, it pretty much turned everything upside down. At that point, _I_ thought of me differently; I wasn't ready to find out what you'd think. It was a – a-"

"A vulnerability," she finished softly. He didn't say anything and suddenly, Elizabeth understood. It was as clear as day, and she wondered how she had never thought of it before. A new light of understanding flooded into her eyes and she moved slowly toward him, inching steadily closer to the armrest on which he sat.

"You thought you were weak."

Jason swallowed thickly and looked away, but Elizabeth wouldn't have any of that. This time, she placed both her hands tenderly on his face, framing it, and gently forced him to look at her. "Jason, for all the words I'd ever use to describe you, _weak_ would never be one of them. Stubborn, yes. Macho, yes. Weak? Never."

Her attempt at humor didn't have its desired affect, and Elizabeth could plainly see the depression in Jason's vivid blue eyes. She hated that he felt this way; he may have brought it all on himself in some ways, but she still hated that he was dealing with this. "Jason, listen to me, okay? I don't know if you've realized, but you're trying to be Superman, hon."

Jason's brows furrowed at her words, but his mind was stuck on the last one. She had actually called him _hon_. And that little bit of information sent something inside him aflutter.

"You've always been so strong and so supportive and understanding through all the messes I've found myself in," she whispered. "You talked me off a ledge when my dad was on me about Johns Hopkins; you listened and held me and just let me be when I found out that I wasn't going to Stanford. Jason, you've always been around since we…since we began, to give me your support and your attention and anything else you thought I needed. I knew that even when I was pissed at the 'rents, or if Brenda and I got into a huge fight and I vowed never to speak to her again until the end of time, I'd always have you. And you have no idea how great a feeling that is. See, Jason, that's the thing – you do your best to be there for everyone: me, Sonny, your friends, your track teammates. But who gets to be there for you, Jason?"

Though the sadness was still there, the look in his eyes told Elizabeth that he was listening. She just had to stick to it until he understood.

"There's nothing wrong with needing someone, Jason," she whispered. "Everyone needs someone. _I_ needed _you_. Feeling that way doesn't make you weak. A medical condition that was completely out of your hands doesn't make you _weak_. If anything, Jason, I think you're one of the strongest people I know; _I_ sure wouldn't have been able to deal with all that. But you did. You dealt with it alone, even if I don't like that part. Don't you see, Jason? You've showed me time and time again without even meaning to just how strong you are. You always used to tell me that_ I_ was the strong one for all the craziness I put up with all the time, but you sell yourself short. Jason, I could never think any differently of you. This wasn't vulnerability, a weakness; it was something terrible that, unfortunately, no one had the power to control or fix. Something like that doesn't detract from your strength as a person, Jason; if anything, it's a testament to it."

Elizabeth's words were sinking in, and Jason took the time to let his eyes drift over her face as she spoke. Her beautiful eyes, vivid and alive with emotion and the will to make him understand; her beautiful, full mouth as it poured forth words of encouragement and strength. Good God, how had he gone so long without her? How did she have the ability to turn his mood around with just a few words? And how the hell had he let himself treat her that way?

"I had no excuse to behave the way I did."

Elizabeth bit her lip. "So explain to me why you did."

Jason's sigh was heavy with the weight of the world, and his rough hand gently closed over Elizabeth's soft one as he urged her to take a seat on the couch. She did, pulling her legs up underneath her as always, and Jason turned around on the armrest to face her, his bare feet on the green cushion. "When I found out, I just shut down. It was really that simple. I couldn't tell you a word of what anyone said to me that day – I was totally gone. I couldn't pay attention to anything, I couldn't talk to anyone, I couldn't do anything – I just wanted to be left alone. And after school that day, you were standing with everyone by Syd's locker and I just…I couldn't do it. I couldn't come over and talk to you and pretend for them that I was fine when all I wanted to do was ram my fist through something hard."

He looked up at her for the first time since he began, and was relieved to see that she was patiently listening, either feeling little or no anger toward him at the moment or doing a damn good job at hiding it.

"And then later, Luke and Taggert found me and invited me over to Luke's place."

"To drink."

Jason looked at Elizabeth, surprise etched across his handsome features. "Y-You knew about that?"

The corner of her mouth hooked up into either a wry smirk or a sympathetic grimace; he couldn't tell which. But neither one helped eradicate the sinking feeling he suddenly felt in the pit of his stomach. "Yeah."

That one word sent a rush of blood straight to his face and Jason couldn't even look at her anymore. _Damn it._ She knew that instead of talking to her, he had gone out and gotten drunk. _Damn it!_ Why the hell was she still talking to him?

"Jason." Her hand fell on his knee and nudged him gently. "Jason? Hey. Hi. Talk to me." He just grimaced and looked away again, and Elizabeth sucked in a breath, thinking he wouldn't continue, when he spoke again.

"So you knew. You knew the whole time."

She shrugged. "Pretty much."

Jason swore and swung his leg off the armrest he occupied. His track shorts swished as he stood, and Elizabeth found herself staring at his back as his fingers speared through his silky golden locks.

"Jason? I-"

"Then why are you here, Elizabeth?" he demanded suddenly, spinning around to face her. "If you knew that I blew you off to go get drunk off my ass, why did you come? Why are you still speaking to me?"

"Because I can't let go of everything I've ever felt for you overnight, okay?" she burst out, standing up and stalking over to him. Her nostrils flared and despite his current confusion of emotions, Jason's hormones felt it necessary to let him know that he did indeed find that incredibly sexy. "Make me understand here, Jason – talk to me."

He pulled a deep breath in through his nose, his bright eyes never leaving hers. "Elizabeth, I blew you off to go get drunk off my ass."

She simply quirked a brow at him. "Yes, I got that part."

"And then I blew you off for the next week because…"

"Because…?"

"Because I was embarrassed," he blurted out. "Embarrassed that instead of coming to you, the one person that in retrospect probably would have understood what it meant to me a hell of a lot better than anyone else except maybe Sonny, I went and hung out with two guys that I'm not even that tight with and started drinking, okay? It wasn't something that I had ever done before and it was totally out of character-"

"Then why did you do it?" Elizabeth asked softly. "To shut everything out?"

Jason shrugged. "Pretty much. And it worked, you know? For that night and the next day, I didn't feel a goddamn thing except sick to my stomach. But that was better than thinking about what happened. And after that, I was too embarrassed to come talk to you, and it was just easier to stay away. One thing led to another, and before I knew it had snowballed into this huge thing that I had no idea how to control. So when Luke called me and told me to get over to Jake's on Friday night, I did it. It felt like I didn't have anything left to lose – I had already gotten into a huge fight with Sonny, I figured that you hated me anyway, so I went and tried to do the same thing all over again."

"Jason, I didn't hate you." Elizabeth's voice was soft and comforting – too much more than Jason felt he deserved. She sighed and pushed him gently to the couch and sat down beside him. "I was hurt and confused and really…pissed off, but I didn't hate you."

And that was what Jason didn't understand. "Why not? Elizabeth, after all that crap – I basically cut you loose without even a word of-"

"Because something told me that there was something behind it all," she replied honestly. "I guess I just held out on the hope that you'd tell me. Plus…my grandpa kinda talked me into…not giving up."

Jason frowned. "Yeah, I kinda figured. He said he'd beat me with his shoe."

"What?"

The blonde shook his head. "Never mind. I'm not even sure I can explain."

They sat there in silence for a few moments that seemed to stretch into eternity, each waiting for the other to say something while fretting about what to say themselves. Finally, Jason managed to gather his turbulent bundle of thoughts together and broke the silence.

"Elizabeth, I know that…that I've been a pain in the ass, but I…I really hope you can forgive me." Her eyes flew to his and Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something but now that Jason had started, he wasn't going to stop until he had said everything. "I know I probably don't deserve it, but I can't stop hoping anyway. Because I don't want to lose you – I can't bear the _thought_ of losing you. Elizabeth, I've never felt this strongly about anyone before; none of the other girls I dated mattered that much to me because they were just passing girls that I wasn't really attached to in any way and, dear God, I can't believe I just said that because I know the last thing you want to hear about are the other girls I dated, and damn it, I said it again, and I'm sorry not that you have to care because I'm an ass but I hope you do because I don't want to spend my twentieth high school reunion hiding by the punch bowl because only the morons hang by the punch bowls and you know what?- I don't even like punch especially the kind with the little bits of fruit in it because it's disgusting but not as disgusting as scotch though keep in mind that I only took a sip of it and didn't get hammered on it or-"

He didn't notice the laughter in her eyes until she scooted forward on the couch and pressed a finger to his lips to shut him up. After all, Canada was one thing, but punch? That was quite another. "Hold it there, Golden Boy," Elizabeth smirked. "_I'm_ the rambler in this pair."

He nodded, her finger still on his lips, and Jason's heart stopped racing when Elizabeth smiled gently back at him. She knew that he had been as honest as he could with her throughout the whole conversation, and that was all she had wanted from the beginning. And the anguish in his voice when he talked about losing her was a definite plus. In her heart, she knew she couldn't stay mad at him forever; it wouldn't be right because the boy was clearly deeply sorry and that helped. A lot. "Jason, I can forgive you."

That was the last thing he had been expecting to hear, and especially so soon. If he was in her place, he would have let himself cool his heels for a week or so while dangling the prospect of a reunion in front of his face like a carrot before a mule. Or more appropriately, an ass. "What? Really?"

Elizabeth nodded slowly. "Yeah. Because I don't want to lose you either, and I figure it'd be a real shame if we split just because of this. Every couple fights; we were lucky enough not to really deal with that until something really big came up, you know? That's gotta be saying something."

"Oh, thank God!" Jason burst out in a combination of relief and elation. He threw his arms around her and pulled her into his lap as he always used to do, and Elizabeth squealed and wiggled just as she always did. She giggled when he dropped a dozen kisses on her face and when his lips brushed hers, she pulled him closer and kissed him just as she had wanted to for the past week. Jason pulled her closer still and the sudden change in motion brought Elizabeth crashing to his chest and before either of them could prevent it, they had fallen over on the couch and were nestled intimately together on the cushions. Jason was about to pull away slightly for her comfort when Elizabeth settled back contentedly and lay her head down on his shoulder. The entire tussle reminded him of something else that he knew was still lurking between them like a beast, waiting for the right time to surface and ruin any pleasant encounter.

"Elizabeth…there's one more thing we have to talk about."

She looked up at him, her chin lightly brushing his chest and sending warm tingles up and down his body. "Oh?"

"We have to talk about what happened here Friday night."

Elizabeth dipped her head into the crook of his neck but Jason still saw the scarlet blush that crept down to her chest. "Oh," she whispered, and from the sound of her voice he could tell that she was nervously chomping on her lip. "I was kinda hoping you had forgotten about that."

Jason groaned to himself at the innocence and embarrassment in her voice – she had nothing to be embarrassed about. It was him – it had all been his doing. Propping himself up on one elbow and squirming around a bit, Jason managed to look directly at Elizabeth as she tried to hide behind a throw cushion. "Elizabeth…I don't know what I can say to fix that. I…I can't believe I let it happen, and I can't believe I let it go as far as I did, and please, Elizabeth, believe me when I say that I would never forgive myself if I hurt you, and I want you to tell me if I did in any way-"

Her sigh was soft and light. "Jason, you didn't hurt me. You'd never hurt me."

"Elizabeth, I was _drunk_," he pointed out bluntly.

"You weren't completely drunk," she replied honestly. "You probably don't remember very well anyway, but you weren't completely passed-out-drunk. You were pretty buzzed, that's all. OK, really buzzed. But, Jason, I know you'd never hurt me. Even then…I knew that you'd stop yourself before you did."

Her words, the understanding and concern in them, made his head spin. "Elizabeth…anything could have happened. I could have-"

"But you didn't," she replied quickly, her blue eyes blazing. "Nothing happened."

"Elizabeth, I was a stumbling, horny drunk and I tried to undress you. That's not exactly _nothing_."

Her eyes softened at the concern he showed her and the loathing he generously bestowed upon himself. "I'm a big girl, Jason."

If she wasn't mistaken, his eyes darkened. "I know."

Doing her best to hold off another tell-tale blush, Elizabeth sat up slightly and brushed her hair hesitantly behind her ear. "I would have stopped it if something happened that I wasn't comfortable with. In fact, I stopped it long before that," she muttered under her breath, and Jason frowned at her tone of voice. She sounded as if she were blaming herself for something.

"Elizabeth, you didn't do anything wrong. I-"

"I lit out of there like my pants were on fire, Jason," she replied, averting her gaze for a minute before he put his fingers under her chin and forced her to look at him like she forced him. "I was a total tease – I just got scared at some point and practically shoved you off of me. I didn't mean to. I was just scared. Jason, you were – I felt – Jason, I think I somehow-"

"Turned me on," Jason replied bluntly. He was doing his best to suppress a grin because he knew it would only embarrass the brunette beauty in his arms more, but he wasn't doing too great a job because she was already turning bright red. Even though he told himself to rein those dirty thoughts back in, at least for this crucial moment, he couldn't help but wonder if her _entire_ body blushed such a pretty color. Unable to help it, Jason let his laughter rumble easily through his chest as he reached forward and pressed a surprisingly chaste kiss to her forehead. "Elizabeth, you'd be surprised at just how many times you've turned me on over the past few months. Frankly, I've lost count."

Her eyes widened in blatant shock. "What?"

"Sure," he answered quickly. "Sweetheart, every little thing you do is just so…I'll let you in on a secret, Elizabeth." Confusion had her furrowing her slender brows. "When a guy is walking down the hall holding his books in front of his crotch, there's a damn good reason for it."

It took her a minute to figure out what he meant by that and when she did, Elizabeth blushed even brighter. "Oh."

Jason smiled at her, smoothing her riot of chocolate waves with his hands, letting his fingers revel in the feeling of chestnut silk, and leaned up to press another kiss to her forehead. "You're not a tease, and I'm sorry I scared you."

She was nibbling her lip when he spoke, and Elizabeth let her hand wander over and twine with his. "Well, I guess I should have explained it better. _You_ didn't scare me, Jason. Not really, anyway. It was more the situation." With a heavy sigh, she settled back down on to his hard chest and rubbed the material of his PC High t-shirt absently between her index and thumb. "It was just that when I felt…when I felt – _that_ – I just froze."

Jason rubbed a strand of espresso-colored hair thoughtfully between his fingers as she continued. "I couldn't move, I couldn't talk, and I couldn't think of anything except that I had to get out of there because I knew what was happening and I…I wasn't sure I was ready. Jason, I – I'm not exactly…experienced and I didn't think I was ready to find out about…to find out that night."

When Jason didn't say anything, Elizabeth lifted her head to meet his gaze for the first time since the mortifying conversation had started. "Jason, I'm a…virgin."

He sensed the embarrassment in her voice and shifted on the couch, bringing his face close enough to lightly brush his lips over hers in a sweet gesture of reassurance. "I know, sweetheart."

Elizabeth frowned. "You do? How do you know?"

Jason shrugged. "Well, since I heard that you never really had a boyfriend before, I kinda figured."

"Oh, my God," Elizabeth groaned, burying her face in her hands. "You _figured_ it out? That easily? You knew? Does _everyone_ know? Oh, what am I saying – of course they do. Oh, my God, this is so freaking mortifying..."

"Hey." Jason ruffled her tousled tresses with his hand. "Hey, look at me. Elizabeth, there's nothing wrong with being a virgin. Nothing at all. Guys say lots of sh!t about not wanting to be with virgins because they have no experience, but that's a load of bull. There is something really special about a girl that knows enough to wait and doesn't just give it away to some random football player after a home game."

Elizabeth blushed brighter, if that was at all possible. "I can't _believe_ we are having this conversation."

"Why?" Jason grinned, pulling her back up to look at him again. "Because you didn't want to think about it? You didn't want me to think about it?"

"Not especially, no," Elizabeth answered with a touch of horror in her voice.

The corner of Jason's mouth curved up into one of those sexy little smirks Elizabeth had come to love so much. "Elizabeth, do you know how many times I've thought about it? Do you know how many times I've thought about being with you?" Her wide doe eyes told him that she didn't. "Elizabeth, I want to be with you, when the time is right. I want it to be special for you and me both. And I certainly don't want it to happen in my basement while I'm a drunk mess. Elizabeth, quit hiding and look at me." She peeked up at him hesitantly and the honesty in his intense eyes helped break up some of her embarrassment. "If we do make love, it's going to be something that we both remember. Like I said, it's going to be special because you don't deserve anything less."

His words, honest and sincere, comforted her and Elizabeth soon sank down against his chest once more, content to listen to his heart beat under her ear. Jason's right hand linked with hers, the fingers twining sensuously, and his left found its place at the small of her back where he rubbed large, lazy circles against the fabric of her t-shirt. Elizabeth's soft sigh was happy and relaxed, but a frown was worrying Jason's handsome features.

"Elizabeth?"

"Hm?"

He shifted on the couch. "You know that I love you, right?"

Her fingers stopped moving with his hand and for a minute Jason thought he had gone too far. As always, he quickly set to work trying to run damage control, but then realized that he couldn't come up with _anything_. There was nothing that could possibly lessen the impact or meaning of his words. He had put them out there and although he meant it, part of him wondered why the room was suddenly so damn quiet.

But just then, Elizabeth's hand fell on his chest and she pushed herself up. A sweep of chestnut locks fell in her face, partially shielding her twinkling sapphire orbs from his view. The hair tickled his cheek when she pulled herself up until they were eye to eye, lying together on the couch, and Elizabeth lowered her lips to his for a slow, tender kiss that set every single nerve in Jason's body on fire.

The most he would allow himself to do was lift one hand to cup the back of her neck, but when Elizabeth's tongue traced his bottom lip, Jason lost control for a moment and tugged her body down, grunting softly when she crashed down on top of him. Elizabeth's nose bumped into his when she pulled back, and the brunette was pleased to see that Jason's eyes were dark and smoldering, coal-black pupils eclipsing the icy blue irises.

"I know you love me," she whispered. "And I love you, too."

That was all it took for Jason's heart to skip two beats, and the tall blonde pulled her down once more for a searing kiss. He still couldn't believe it, any of it – she was in his arms, kissing him, stroking his hair, scoring his lip with her teeth, when three hours ago the two of them weren't even on speaking terms. Jason's heart raced under Elizabeth's small hand as a wave of thankfulness washed over him. He was _so_ incredibly thankful that he had worked up the courage to call her; he was thankful that Mr. Hardy had paved the way for him with some encouraging words of perseverance; but most of all, he was thankful that Elizabeth was the compassionate, understanding person she was. While it was true that he didn't kill anyone here, it was also true that he had hurt her. And she had been more than considerate and more than terrific in her decision to take him back.

They cuddled on the couch for what seemed like hours. Jason couldn't keep his hands off of her – he stroked her hair, caressed her cheek, smoothed his hand up and down her back. She was never close enough for his liking and kept wiggling in his arms when he showered her with kisses. The sound of her laughter was music to Jason's ears – after a week of silence, it amazed him how much he had missed everything about her, especially that cute little laugh. Her eyes lit up when she laughed or smiled, and something inside Jason swelled with pride at the thought that _he_ was the one putting that look of pure happiness on her face. That was something he definitely wanted to continue doing, and because of her determination not to give up on him, Jason would have his chance.

Her lashes fluttered against his cheek, and Jason opened his eyes to see if she had opened hers. She had, and was gazing back at him so serenely and peacefully that Jason wondered for the hundredth time that night if his mind was playing tricks on him, if this was _actually_ real.

"Elizabeth?"

"Mm?"

His lips brushed sweetly against hers, a whisper of a caress. "I'm really forgiven?"

"Mm-hmm." She peeked out at him when he pressed his forehead to hers, and it was only when a long moment passed without him saying anything that Elizabeth's brows furrowed. "Hey."

Jason's eyes flew open when she jabbed a finger at his chest. "What?"

"A little groveling wouldn't hurt, you know."

It took him a minute to understand what she meant, but when he did, Jason ducked his head. "Oh, yeah. Right." Elizabeth settled comfortably against his chest as he slowly started with the apologies again, tossing in some nice stuff about how he'd never do anything that dumb again and that nothing was worth losing her, and when Elizabeth felt bad for letting him wax on for so long, she covered his mouth with her hand and whispered that she knew it was hard for him to never be able to run again, but that everything would be okay.

"You'll get through this, Jason," was her firm answer. "I know you will. You're going to be just fine." And for the first time since that day at the hospital, Jason believed her.

"I've just been doing it for so long," he sighed, tracing a soft circle on her shoulder with his fingertips. "It's what I'm really good at – nothing else even comes close. Plus, I had everything figured out. I was going to be on the track team at Boston; I even met with the coach and the other runners and everything. It was set, you know?"

"Things can change in an instant, Jason," Elizabeth reminded him quietly. "Plans are good – I've always believed that. But sometimes, they're no good. Sometimes it's all about rolling with the punches and doing the best you can. And trust me, Jason, you're going to find something else that you love to do."

"I guess."

"I _know_."

"You always know, don't you?"

Her smile was small and sincere. "I know _you_. And that's all I need to know to see that you're…you're not going to be stopped, Jason. Remember what you told me when I found out about Stanford? You told me something that your grandmother told you – whenever a door closes, a window opens. I believed you then, so you have to believe me now. You're not going to have any trouble rising from this, Jason."

"But I've always been _The Track Star_," he pointed out sadly. "I mean, that's what everyone knew me as. Even my parents – all their friends practically know me only by that – Jason the Track Star. And now I'm not."

"But that doesn't mean you're not still _you_," she reminded him. "And that doesn't mean you've exhausted all your talents and skills. I will bet you my blue hemp necklace that you will find something else that you love just as much as running and you will be great at it. How about that?"

"I see your bet and…raise you my bike," he smirked.

"Oh, no, Morgan," she disagreed, shaking her head with a grin. "The bike's sacred. No one's touching that thing."

"And no one's ever ridden on it but you," he whispered back. "Did I ever tell you that?"

His words washed over her like a warm, fragrant summer breeze. "Really? I'm the first? Your first passenger on that thing?"

"My first, my last, my always," Jason whispered against her lips. "No one could ever _get_ the bike like you do. You're the only one that wouldn't be afraid of it, the only one that would scream off the back and the only one that would ever see the wind as we blew past it. You're the only person I ever want on that bike with me."

"You know, that almost makes up for the lousy job you did groveling," Elizabeth smirked. Her smirk soon turned into a squeal when Jason flipped her over on her back on the couch and pinned her down.

"What do you mean?" he demanded playfully. "Woman, I groveled like a goddamn dog."

"I've heard better," Elizabeth snipped, her eyes dancing with mirth.

Jason's baby blues narrowed dangerously. "Strong words. Strong words from a strong woman."

"Strong words _to_ a strong man," Elizabeth corrected, looping her arms around his neck and taking a minute to spear her fingers through his silky hair. "Remember that, Jason – you told me how strong you think I am. Remember that I think the same way about you. And from now on, Morgan, _talk_ to me before you jump off the ledge – because I just may be able to talk you off of it."

"Got it," he nodded. "Anything else?"

"More groveling would be nice."

"Aha. Anything _else_?"

"Chocolate. Lots of chocolate."

"Done."

"And the next time we go riding, you let me steer, at least."

"OK, see, now you're just being greedy…"


	25. OhSoCharming

**Oh-So-Charming**

_This takes place during the school week of May 24th. Remember, prom is on Saturday the 29th of May. Ooooh. Ok, I'll shut up._

With her fingers laced through Jason's, Elizabeth Webber was doing her best not to burst out laughing as they walked down the senior hallway toward his locker. As soon as they had stepped onto the third floor, all eyes had been turned toward them. A palpable sigh of relief had followed them as their friends saw their linked hands, and although she could feel Jason's irritation radiate off of him, Elizabeth was kind of amused.

He was muttering something under his breath about people not having anything interesting going on in their lives, and Elizabeth elbowed him lightly because she didn't want anyone to be offended. She understood why he was slightly annoyed with the unwanted attention, but she also knew that these were their friends, and they were like this. They always had been and she had a feeling they always would be. Sure, they were meddlesome; sure, they were practically little spies, but they were also just a bunch of high school seniors trying to get through the third-to-last week of high school while holding on to it as well.

They reached his locker and Jason let go of her hand, allowing Elizabeth to lean up against the adjacent one as she always did. He was stuffing his Psychology book into his locker when he caught her gaze, and the mirth sparkling in her sapphire orbs finally brought a smile to his lips as well. Elizabeth giggled when he shook his head in disbelief, and when Carol and Brenda made their way to the drinking fountain, they were amazed to see the two of them chuckling quietly and talking softly, leaning into each other as if nothing had ever been wrong.

That sight, of course, caused Carol to immediately convene an emergency meeting of the Busybodies Association. Brenda rolled her eyes as Felicia, Jenny, Emily and Lexi gathered around the blonde like a blood clot in the middle of the hallway, but was soon sucked into it when everyone wanted to know if she had any prior knowledge of this and if she did, shame on her for not leaking it into the network.

Brendan walked down the hallway and glanced at his girlfriend in confusion as she jabbered away with a bunch of her friends. Sometimes, he just didn't get that – Jenny had to be one of the smartest, most conscientious people he knew but occasionally she turned into the typical gossiping little ninny that she ridiculed. Still confused about what to make of that strange gathering, Brendan sauntered over to his locker and it was only when he was a pace away from it that he noticed Elizabeth. With Jason. Standing together and talking. By the lockers.

His surprise was only momentary – after all, he was not like Jenny and certainly would not spend all day pondering the implications of said occurrence as well as the possible circumstances that could have led up to it – and resumed undoing his combination lock. When Elizabeth and Jason looked his way, Brendan smiled at his fellow editor and tipped his head at Jason, which the tall blonde rightfully took as a sign that all uncharacteristic behavior from the past was to be overlooked and forgiven. After all, that was just how it was with guys.

Girls were not such an easy matter, however. The congregation centered around Carol and Brenda had grown in number, with Johnny O'Brien even shoving Lexi out of the way to get some information. But before any official Busybodies-Association-approved action could be taken, the bell rang. All heads instantly craned over to where the allegedly reunited couple stood, on the lookout for the telltale sign. And they got what they were looking for – Jason slammed his locker shut and kissed Elizabeth on the lips before they split for class. He blew right by them on his way for the stairs, his physics notebook in one hand and a calculator in the other, and Elizabeth strolled three yards into her Spanish class where Mr. Lewis stood waiting at the door, wearing a smug little smirk that irked her for some unexplainable reason.

Sonny made his entrance just then and was about to head into the same room for _su clase de español_ when Brenda grabbed his arm. Mr. Lewis, still standing like a silent sentinel at the door while the kids scurried around like ants, watched the two of them engage in hushed conversation before Brenda kissed Sonny and they split as well. The Cuban boy ducked quickly into the classroom and made a beeline for his assigned seat next to a certain brunette, and Mr. Lewis shook his head with amusement.

Kids. It was so funny to think that they all only had three weeks left before they were out, and only four weeks left until they graduated. And then they were on their own – thrown to the mercy of a cruel world. Some of them had the skills to succeed and excel beyond their wildest dreams; others would have to struggle for their goals. They would have to call on every nugget of information, every shred of critical thinking power if they wanted to survive and make it out there on their own, but for now? They were all wrapped up in their own episode of _Beverly Hills 90210_. It was downright laughable – almost adults, yet still just a bunch of kids.

The final bell rang and Mr. Cameron Lewis sauntered into his room, a soft smile on his lips. Just a bunch of kids. A bunch of good kids. _God bless 'em_, he thought to himself as he swept a calm gaze around the room as if it were his last.

* * *

Elizabeth was dutifully copying down notes from the board as Mr. Lewis blathered on and on in Spanish, and next to her, Sonny was doing the same. They were halfway into the period and yet her friend had been noticeably silent the whole time and truth be told, it was beginning to annoy her. He hadn't said a word about anything, much less her and Jason, even though Elizabeth knew that he had to have heard the news by now. After all, it traveled through PC High like a bad case of mono. Mr. Lewis was shuffling through one of his books and Elizabeth took advantage of the lull in conversation to lean over to Sonny as he doodled his name in the margin of his notebook.

"You can ask, you know."

He ducked his head and Elizabeth smirked. When he looked back up at her, she saw that his eyes were dancing with amusement as well. "That obvious, huh?"

"Let's just say the silence was deafening," she grinned.

Sonny set his pencil down and leaned back in his chair, studying her for a good moment before speaking softly. "You and Jason – you're good, right?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, we're good."

Sonny's smile grew and his charming dimples – the same ones that had the girls fairly swooning as he walked down the hallway, much to Brenda's displeasure – peeked out. Mr. Lewis happened to glance over at the two of them at that moment and when he saw both Sonny and Elizabeth grinning at each other, there was little doubt in his mind as to what they were talking about.

Sonny's nod was almost imperceptible but his smile was sincere. "Good."

* * *

The bell rang and Jason picked up his notebook and calculator as Mr. Baier shouted out a reminder to check the syllabus for homework. His Physics class had been interminable – a first for him since he really liked Physics. And to make matters worse, he felt everyone sneaking glances at him throughout the period. He had been annoyed in the morning at the same thing, but Elizabeth had convinced him to take some amusement from it. After all, it was pretty funny that their friends were so invested in their relationship. And if he really thought about it, it was nice of them. He was just so used to not receiving much from other people in those terms that their outpouring of concern and even involvement threw him for a loop before Elizabeth forced him to look at it another way.

Roni Peterson fell into step with him as they walked down the hallway toward the stairs where everyone was already migrating, creating a sardines-in-a-can kind of environment. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled up in one of those fancy buns that were meant to look careless, and she kept her gaze glued before her as they walked. Still, Jason saw the corner of her mouth hook up. She glanced at him then and must have caught the tail end of his smirk because she chuckled quietly to herself.

"Jason."

"Roni."

"You look happy today."

Jason grinned ahead, not meeting her gaze, and nodded once. "Sure. Today's a good day."

"Good," Roni beamed, unable to keep her own grin from stretching ear-to-ear as they squeezed through the mess of their fellow sardines. "I'm sure Beth thinks so, too."

And with that she was gone, maneuvering her way past a group of gabbing sophomores and heading toward the art wing without so much as a wave. Jason just smirked and shook his head. He knew better than to think that he had gotten through the worst of the "well-meaning concern" of their friends. And he didn't even want to _think_ of what Carol would do to him once she got within shouting distance.

* * *

The rest of the periods passed slowly and with several more intrusive comments and interrogations, and eventually Jason found himself in Calculus with Sonny on his right and Elizabeth one seat over. It was their first day together after the AP, and it was obvious that Mr. Alcazar was in no mood to teach. And that was a good thing because if he had attempted to do so, there would have been mass rioting in the small classroom. Charlie and Ryan were already getting ready to nap in their own little corner, and Elizabeth was playing with one of the Czar's Rubik cubes.

It took their teacher ten minutes to find his gradebook, much to everyone's amusement, and he finally managed to get attendance taken care of. Setting down the book, Mr. Alcazar stuffed his hands into his pockets and shuffled out to stand in front of his desk. He spent a good deal of the class period asking them how they felt about the AP and what sort of questions they thought they botched. The discussion was easy and relaxed, complete with the good-natured ribbing that typified that class. Sonny was more at ease, Jason noticed. He smiled and talked and even looked in his direction a couple of times, meaning that it wouldn't be too hard to mend the bridges between them.

"They had related rates on there," Luke announced. "Would you believe it?"

"I do believe it," Mr. Alcazar replied. "Now, is that a good thing or bad thing?"

"Both," Luke answered, folding his arms behind his head and leaning back. "See, I practiced related rates for a whole day – I literally went to the Studio, got a cup of coffee and sat there for eight hours doing those practice sheets you gave us – and I was still having some trouble with the funnel ones. And so that totally freaked me out because I thought that I'd be screwed on the test."

"But…?" Mr. Alcazar prompted him. "Come on, boy, don't leave me in a lurch – what happened?"

"The one on the test was so freaking easy!" the slender blonde burst out. "It was almost ridiculous – one simple u-substitution and the whole thing might as well have been Pre-Calc. I was like, 'well, what the hell was I doing spending all day on this crap?' It was really weird, and it kinda pissed me off."

Mr. Alcazar laughed. "Only _you_ would get angry over an easy problem, Spence. What else?"

"They had a lot of area under the curve questions," Elizabeth piped up, still twisting the Rubik's cube. Her eyes didn't meet her teacher's as she continued concentrating on the infuriating hunk of plastic. Damn it, she was going to solve it before the bell rang and that was that. "Those were pretty easy."

Sonny nodded. "Yeah – we went over those in one of our study groups at Jason's. That was no sweat at all."

Jason perked up at the mention of his own name from his somewhat estranged best friend's mouth and nodded when Mr. Alcazar looked to him for agreement.

"So, how do you guys feel? Did your studying pay off? Did you think you could have done better? Is there anything you'd like to recommend to me or students in the upcoming school year?"

Elizabeth shrugged thoughtfully and then swore at the cube in her hands, much to the amazement and amusement of everyone in the room. "You did fine, Czar. I liked that you spent so much time on the beginning stuff – that was really helpful. And I personally think my studying habits were fine."

"Me, too," Sonny agreed. "I'm glad I didn't cram right before the test because that would have killed me."

"Yeah," Jason agreed. "I think that's key – to work at a consistent pace and not overdo it in the homestretch." He and Elizabeth both cringed at the inadvertent running metaphor but it went unnoticed by their teacher.

"So how did you guys study?" he asked curiously. "As in, what do you recommend in that area? Were the sheets helpful? Do you think study groups were helpful, like the ones Jason and er, who was it, Beth organized?"

From the back of the room, Lisa Kelling laughed. "Well, I don't know what sort of study groups you're talking about Czar, because I've seen those two _studying_ at the Studio." Elizabeth blushed and Jason ducked his head with a grin. "And they looked way too cozy to be doing _Calculus_."

Mr. Alcazar stared at her for a second before turning his gaze to a very pink Elizabeth and a suddenly brazen Jason, and then burst out laughing. "Ok, so study groups work as long as they're _not_ just Jason and Beth. Got it." The rest of the room was already laughing along. "So, anything else?"

The discussion continued until Marcus announced that it was "that time again", and although Mr. Alcazar tried to stop him, the tall basketball player was out the door in three seconds flat. The rest of the students followed him out, shooting sympathetic smiles at their teacher as he gave up and tried to straighten out his desk. Jason followed Elizabeth up to his locker and waited for her as she exchanged her books. Having not brought any of his own, Jason held only one notebook and a calculator in his hand with a mechanical pencil shoved into the pocket of his jeans.

Elizabeth eyed him with amusement as he shifted his weight from foot to foot, growing more antsy as the seconds went by. "Anything wrong, Jason?"

He wasn't looking at her but at the clock mounted above the lockers. "Hurry up, Elizabeth, come on."

She took her time sliding her lock back in place and locking it, and no sooner had her fingers twisted the little blue knob than Jason grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Jason-"

He grabbed her backpack from the floor and slung it over one shoulder, darting another nervous glance at the clock. The bell would ring any minute, and he wanted to get out of there.

"Woah, woah," Elizabeth sputtered as he practically dragged her away down the hallway. "What's your hurry, Jason? It's just lunch!"

Jason stopped and cringed noticeably as the bell rang, and as soon as the students began flooding the hall, he pulled her hand more insistently. "Elizabeth, we have to get out of here-"

"What? Why?"

"Because Carol has class in that room over there," he answered quickly, pointing over the heads of several short sophomores. "And if we don't get out of here-"

"JASON MORGAN!"

Elizabeth was the one to cringe when Carol's indignant shriek echoed through the hallway, grabbing everyone's attention and scaring the little sophomores. Familiar faces turned to look at her, and she gripped Jason's large hand tightly when she spied Carol squeezing her way through the traffic and making a beeline for them. "OK, I get your point – let's move."

Jason didn't need any more encouragement and was practically flying down the stairs as Elizabeth matched him step for step. They pushed out of the double doors at the same time and hit the pavement running, aiming straight for Jason's Jeep in the parking lot until something occurred to Elizabeth and she immediately slowed her steps, pulling Jason back with her.

"What's wrong?" His piercing blue eyes, laced with worry and concern, quickly scanned her for any signs of injury or pain. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered quickly, moving her hand up to his forearm and rubbing the bulging muscle underneath soothingly. "But Jason…you can't run."

His concern for her, so evident in his expressive eyes, bled away as he regarded her softly. Every so often, her instincts to take care of him completely floored Jason. "Elizabeth, I _can_ run," he reminded her gently. "I just can't do it for long stretches of distance or time. But I can run to the _parking lot_."

Jason could see the uncertainty in her pacific blue eyes, and his gaze unconsciously gravitated to where she was mangling her full bottom lip with her teeth. "Are you sure? But what if you hurt yourself-"

His chuckle was soft and he adjusted her backpack over his shoulder before snaking one arm around her waist and pulling her along as they walked to the lot. "I won't – I may not be able to compete, but the doctors did say that I should have no problem otherwise. I can still play basketball and soccer, you know. Don't worry."

She nodded unsurely and nibbled on her lower lip all the way to Jason's Jeep. Lunch was a simple affair, as it always was, but both of them nevertheless took comfort in that familiar little ritual of theirs. They returned to school two minutes after the five minute bell rang and after a quick kiss flew off to their separate classrooms.

And before anyone knew it, the day was over. Elizabeth walked out of her tenth period Psychology class with Petey, both of them quickly covering the six feet to their lockers. The softball captain had been shooting her sly smiles all through the period and now that they were finally free, she wasn't holding back.

"So?" Forgotten was their daily after-school sing-along; instead of the tunes, Lauren obviously wanted the dirt. "Damn it, Webber, you're going to have to talk eventually! We'll get it out of you – you know we will!"

Elizabeth just laughed, opening her messy locker just enough to slip the thick textbook inside. Petey's brown eyes narrowed, watching the girl as she quickly slammed the door shut and tried to wedge her combination lock in despite the locker's obvious will to open and spill its contents all over the tiles.

Petey sighed, waiting for her friend to get up from the floor. When she did, the taller brunette effectively barred her escape route. Elizabeth tried to dodge but Lauren anticipated her move and quickly twisted around accordingly.

"Oh, no, Beth," she growled, shaking her head menacingly. "You're not getting away that easily."

"Don't even _think_ about it," came another voice from down the hall. The two brunettes looked up just in time to see Carol Benson hobble her way toward them atop sky blue stiletto sandals. "We're long overdue for a chat, Beth."

"I almost hate to agree, but I have to." Elizabeth's dark blue eyes glittered treacherously when her best friend sauntered gracefully toward them, her own brown eyes sparkling with mirth. She stopped right next to Petey, her slender arms crossed over her chest and quirked a mischievous smile at her. "You've been avoiding us all day, Beth."

"Bren-"

The girl just shook her head with a wicked smirk. "Nope. Sorry, babe – now you spill."

"That, or we can beat it out of you."

Elizabeth spun around and groaned when she spotted her co-editor Jenny sporting her trademark pink feather boa and a Cheshire cat grin. She was just about to reply when Lexi Cassidine trudged out of Mrs. Hornsby's classroom and instantly made a beeline for the little group.

"I vote we beat her anyway," the slender brunette announced. "You know – on sheer principle."

"We are equal-opportunity assailants, after all," Sydney Morse quipped, popping out of the computer lab and skipping up next to Jenny. "Out with it, Beth."

The petite brunette just shook her head, laughing to herself. She should have known that she wouldn't be able to get out of this conversation today, no matter how scarce she and Jason made themselves. After all, her friends were resourceful and merciless when it came to good gossip. And whether they liked it or not, she and Jason had been big news ever since that first morning that they walked in together.

"Fine," she sighed heavily, her back slamming against the lockers as she flung her backpack to the tiles. "What do you want to know?"

Brenda and Carol's grins stretched from ear to ear. "Why Beth," the tall blonde cooed, batting her heavily made-up eyelashes. "We thought you'd _never_ ask."

* * *

At the other end of the senior hallway, Jason was soon to have a similar conversation with his friends. But unlike Elizabeth's gal pals, the boys didn't believe in ambush tactics. They didn't have to; after all, it wasn't _them_ that Jason had been trying to avoid all day. It had mainly been Petey and Carol. The former was most likely to punch him hard in the arm for being such a loser and the latter was most likely to rupture his eardrums with her high-pitched shrieks. He just couldn't win.

But the boys were different.

"Yo, Morgan!" Jason and Brendan, standing in front of their adjacent lockers, both looked up to see Marcus and Luke striding jauntily toward them. "Got a minute?"

"Sure," he nodded slowly, gripping his backpack and waiting curiously until they were closer. "What do you need?"

Luke grasped the back of his neck with one hand, rubbing away at a stubborn knot and looking up when Sonny approached. The Cuban tugged at the straps of his green backpack, pulling it higher up on his back and stood nearby silently. He and Jason had yet to say anything about the events of the past week, but the sight of Taggert and Luke singling him out in the hall made the President of the student body rather curious – and suspicious.

Jason waited patiently as Luke began. "Look, man, we're, uh, sorry if we messed things up between you and Beth."

Sonny expelled a breath of air through his nose, his shoulders relaxing. Taggert and Luke were his friends, no doubt about that, but he was still a bit skeptical when it came to them and Jason. He didn't want his best friend caught up in something bigger than he was – again. Not when he had worked so hard to get out of it and obviously succeeded, if Beth's remark that they were "good" was any indication.

"We really are, Morgan," Taggert repeated. "We just wanted to help you loosen up – it looked like you needed it. We're sorry if we kinda fucked things up for ya."

"You didn't fuck anything up for me," Jason replied, closing his locker and twisting the knob of his lock. "I did a good enough job of that on my own."

"Still, we just wanted to let you know that we didn't mean for all this shit to get started," Luke shrugged. "And…from the look of things, I'm glad that you and Beth patched things up."

Jason flashed him a wry grin. "That makes two of us."

"No, that's where you're wrong," Sonny disagreed, his dimples peeking out. "Apparently, the whole damn _school_ is glad."

Brendan laughed. "Tell me about it. Man, have you seen those girls? I haven't seen anyone that fired up – positively or not – since my parents when they cancelled MASH."

Johnny O'Brien had appeared halfway through Brendan's statement and roughly pushed Sonny to the side, hopping away when the older boy tried to retaliate with a swift punch. "No joke, dude – they're totally clotting around Beth right now. I can't even see her – they're like those piranhas on the Discovery Channel."

Jason cringed, making Luke laugh. "Don't worry, Morgan – Beth can handle herself," he assured him. A shrill shriek echoed from the far end of the hallway and Michael Quartermaine, with his baseball duffel on one shoulder and backpack on the other, winced as he passed the boys.

"Don't be so sure," he warned, tipping his red head toward the other side of the building. "That was Carol."

Sonny laughed. "Actually, I think it might have been Brenda."

"It's just so damn hard to tell sometimes," Jason teased, shaking his head with mock disgust. Sonny muttered something discouraging under his breath, causing his best friend to laugh.

"Anyway, yeah, that's all I wanted to say," Taggert cut in, glancing at his watch. "I'll catch you guys later – Coach is going to bust a cap in my ass if I'm late again."

"Later." Jason bent down and zipped up his backpack, reflecting that now was as good a time as any to say what he knew he would inevitably have to. "And, look, I'm sorry about the way I've been acting for the last couple days. I just…I was hit with some rough shit and didn't really handle it very well."

"It's okay," Brendan shrugged, pulling an ever-present pen from atop his ear and quickly jotting down his homework on his hand as it came to him. "Shit happens."

"Woah, don't be going all Forrest Gump on us, man," Johnny ribbed. "But seriously, Jase, it's cool. We all kinda figured that you weren't yourself."

"Yeah," Michael nodded, remembering how Jason had stood up for him and Brendan at Jake's that one night. He had gone after the barfly like a man possessed, something very uncharacteristic of his normally easy-going friend. "So…dude, what happened?"

Sonny was watching his best friend closely, waiting for any semblance of an answer. In all the years that they had known each other, Jason had very rarely lost his cool. That was his own job – Jason was usually the one that calmed him down when he got a little too…intense about something. But this time had been different, and Sonny was secretly dying to know what could have affected his friend so deeply.

"I, uh…Well, I went back to General Hospital about a week and a half ago and they checked up on my legs." Johnny nodded, still thinking back to that afternoon that Jason had collapsed on the track while asking Elizabeth to prom. "Basically, they said that something went wrong and I can't…I can't run again."

As a rule, teenage boys rarely let themselves be surprised about anything. Each liked to maintain that James Dean on-top-of-the-world attitude, letting others believe him immune to life's little trials and tribulations. But that rule was instantly forgotten as they gaped at their old friend.

Michael and Johnny's eyes were wide and Sonny's jaw was agape. Luke stroked his chin wistfully and was the first to speak.

"Dude, Morgan…I'm sorry, man. No wonder you went all apeshit on us."

Jason chuckled, the raspy sound lacking any humor. "Yeah, well…"

"Jason, that's…that's…" It was highly strange, surreal even, to see their brash, younger Irish friend struggling to find words. "That's terrible. You can't run at _all_?"

Michael's blue eyes were laced with sympathy as his friend shrugged. "Well, I can run when I play basketball or frisbee or sports and stuff, but I definitely can't compete. Otherwise, it's going to be the same as before."

"What happened?" Brendan wanted to know. "Did they mess up the operation?"

"No. They did exactly what they were supposed to." And that was the part that hurt the most. "It's just that my legs weren't healing the right way. There was nothing they could have done, really."

"That's rough, man," Michael sighed, rubbing his temples. "Damn. That sucks."

Jason rolled his eyes as if to say, _you're telling me_, and the five other boys stood around for a short while, shuffling their feet and talking quietly. And then Michael announced very apologetically that he really had to get to practice otherwise Coach would go postal on him. Jason waved him on, being very familiar himself with temperamental athletic coaches. Luke and Johnny had band practice to get to and Brendan was supposed to be setting up templates for the final issue of the senior paper, and that left only Sonny and Jason standing by the lockers.

His best friend had yet to say anything since Jason had divulged the cause of his problems. And Jason didn't really need for him to say anything. He had been a complete ass and done things to Sonny that he never would have done otherwise, and even though the boy had seemed to forgive him earlier, it was still understandable if he just wanted to keep things cool for a while.

But Sonny surprised him by not being the sort of friend Jason felt he deserved, but the sort of friend that Jason really _needed_.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

The hushed question only served to increase Jason's guilt and he shrugged lamely. "I couldn't. I couldn't tell anyone."

Sonny nodded to himself, staring down at the floor. "That's why you didn't tell Beth, even?"

Jason shrugged again. "Like I said, I couldn't. I was too busy just…shutting down, I guess." His best friend looked as if he was about to say something, but Jason didn't give him a chance. "Look, Sonny, for what it's worth, I'm sorry about what happened. About fighting with you, about dragging you down to Jake's to clean up after me-"

"Woah, woah, cool it, Jase," Sonny ordered, holding his hands up. "It's okay. It's what friends do. And I'm…I'm really sorry, man. I don't even know what to say." Jason not running again was very hard for him to imagine. The two of them had been on the track team since junior high; it was what they _did_, it was who they _were_. And the thought of his best friend not being able to do it ever again… "You okay?"

Jason leaned back against his locker. The halls were empty now save the tight clot of girls at the extreme opposite end, still chattering away like no tomorrow. "I guess. It's just been really hard getting used to it. It was so much easier to shut it all off and hide away for a while."

"That's why you got drunk."

It wasn't a question, but Jason treated it as such. "Pretty much. It was the easy way out. And even though I always steered clear of the stuff, there just didn't seem to be a point anymore. I never drank because I knew it would fuck up my body and mess with my ability to run. After what happened, it didn't really matter."

Sonny nodded slowly. God, he didn't even know what he would do if he got the same news his best friend had. As much as he hated to admit it, probably the same thing. "Look, I don't…I don't think any less of you because of what happened. Everyone has…different ways of dealing with stuff, you know? I probably would have done the same."

Jason snorted. "No, you wouldn't have."

"I might have," Sonny insisted. "I held off from beer for the same reason as you – because of track. It's just as important to me as it is to you. And if I found out the same thing, boy…I don't know _what_ I'd do."

Jason didn't reply, and Sonny shifted uncomfortably. Damn, this heart-to-heart stuff was just too damn hard. They really should just leave it to the girls and go watch a football game or something.

"Look, Jason, you're still…you're still my best friend. That won't change, dude."

The tall blonde eyed him warily, his brows furrowing. "After all the shit I pulled? After I kicked the crap out of you in front of everyone and-"

Sonny cut him off quickly. "First, yeah. So what? Friends fight all the time. Second, I think you're still being a little too hard on yourself, Jase. I mean, Beth's forgiven you; she was your toughest sell and she moved past it so why wouldn't I? Third, I like to think that fight was a draw."

Amusement kicked up the corner of Jason's mouth. "Think what you want, Corinthos. It was a total shut-down."

Sonny muttered something dark under his breath but shut up as soon as the girls approached from their end of the building. They were still chattering away, each one grabbing onto Elizabeth's ear with her own questions and comments and the poor little brunette's head looked as if it were about to explode.

Brenda lightly elbowed Carol away, shooting her a warning glance to obey the not-so-subtle hint, and looped one arm through Elizabeth's and the other through her boyfriend's. "So, we ready to head on out?"

"Yes, that we are," Sonny replied gallantly, smiling at Beth. Jason quickly grabbed his stuff and took up the other end, the four of them walking down the hall together as Elizabeth and Brenda's friends followed, still jabbering away. Lauren had managed to sneak unnoticed onto Jason's left and blindsided him with a quick punch to the shoulder.

"Hey! What the fu-"

The tall brunette's clenched fist shut Jason up. "You're lucky I don't trample you to the ground, Morgan," she warned him. "But since it's all cool now, I'm good. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Sydney and Lauren separated from the group and Carol turned to follow them but not before pointing a finger at Jason. "Yes, tomorrow," she repeated to her old friend. "That's when we're going to have a little talk of our own, Jason."

Elizabeth laughed when he groaned and allowed herself to be pulled along to the doors. The four of them stepped out into the warm afternoon and strolled over to the parking lot, and Jason and Elizabeth waved goodbye to Brenda and Sonny as they headed off for her car.

As soon as their friends were out of earshot, Jason turned around to face Elizabeth. "Well? How bad was it?"

She groaned, covering her face with her hands. "_Terrible_, Jason! Remind me again why I talk to any of those girls?"

He snickered, taking her backpack from her and tossing it into the Jeep. "Don't ask me. You know that I'm biased on the issue."

"They just wouldn't stop talking!" she continued as if he hadn't spoken. "They just wouldn't stop until they knew every single detail. Jason." Elizabeth's small hands fisted in his t-shirt and she pulled him close. "Carol made me script out dialogue."

He smiled sympathetically down at her and wrapped one arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. "Poor baby."

"And Brenda almost throttled me."

"See, I've always told you that she was crazy."

"And Jenny actually drew out a list of what she called 'reparations' – things for you to give me to prove you were sorry. Number one on the list was chocolate."

"I already _gave_ you chocolate."

"A girl can never have enough, you know."

"I'm beginning to see that."

"Wanna know what number two was?"

"Not really, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyway."

"Chocolate."

"Of course."


	26. Something Borrowed and Something Black

**Something Borrowed and Something Black**

"This is so totally, absolutely, completely frickin' unheard of!" Brenda Barrett hissed as she dragged her best friend down the hallway. "I swear, Beth, what the hell's _wrong_ with you?"

"Hey! Ow!" Elizabeth dug her heels into the ground and struggled, trying to get loose but to no avail due to the vice-like grip Brenda had on her wrist. "Leggo! Damn it, woman, you're crazy!"

"No," Brenda clarified forcefully, shooting her a dark glare over her shoulder and pulling harder. "Crazy is fighting with your ass-clown of a boyfriend right before Prom, thus leaving the status of your actual presence at said Prom unverified, and then making up with said ass-clown boyfriend and deciding to go to Prom together _three_ fricking days before the thing! _That's_ crazy!"

"You're certifiably insane," Elizabeth huffed, latching onto one of the lockers that they passed and finally slowing Brenda's march. "I should have you committed – you'd look cute in that white jacket, I'm sure."

"White doesn't do a damn thing for my complexion and you know it," Brenda snipped without missing a beat, and the two brunettes struggled briefly as she pried Elizabeth's fingers from the locker.

"No! Damn it! Hey! Stop it! I don't want to go with you!"

"Well, you are, damn it!" Brenda yelled back, putting all her weight into tugging her stubborn friend down the hall. "You can't pull this kind of crap and expect to do it your own way. Now we are going to get a few things straight, Elizabeth Webber – we're going to get all the details ironed out and we're going to be _damned_ if this doesn't go smoothly despite the little stunt you and Jason pulled."

"No! No, no! Leave me alone! I don't _want_ to come with you! Heeeeelp!"

Sonny and Jason, who were standing in the doorway of the third floor computer lab, poked their heads out of the room to see Brenda dragging a kicking and screaming Elizabeth down the hall where a rather perturbed group of their female friends stood. When they reached the small bunch consisting of Carol, Lauren, Sydney, Emily, Jenny and Felicia, Elizabeth tried to make a break of it, thinking that Brenda's attention would be otherwise occupied. The petite brunette was sorely disappointed when instead of just her best friend's iron claws closing around her wrist, she found herself gripped by several of her other friends as well. Sonny smirked as the girls practically lifted her off the tiles and shoved her into the empty yearbook office. Brenda didn't notice the two of them as she swept a wary glance around the almost-empty hallway and closed the door firmly behind herself.

"I don't know about you," Sonny drawled, his gaze still fixed on the door behind which the girls had disappeared, "but I think that was _damn_ hot."

Jason laughed, sobering up quickly when Mrs. Ardonowski frowned at them. "I feel kinda guilty, though – I got her into that mess with the peanut gallery over there."

Sonny cringed when loud yelling suddenly erupted from behind the closed doors, echoing in the silent hallway. "Yeah, you did. And knowing Beth, she'll give you hell for putting her through that."

His best friend rolled his eyes. "See, that's what I don't get – girls on one hand are such good friends, always laughing together and crying together and making brownies and giving out an infinite amount of hugs for no good reason; and then on the other hand, you have this – they're monsters, man."

"No," Sonny shook his head, stepping back into the lab as Jason followed suit. "They're _girls_. Subtle difference, I know, but a difference nonetheless."

* * *

"And do you have dinner reservations, Beth?"

"Uh…"

"What about a dress? Did you order yours?"

"Er…"

"And what about gloves? Shoes? A purse? Your garter?"

"Well…"

"Did you set up your hair appointment? Did you even go through a trial run?"

"About that..."

"And do you guys already have tickets for post-Prom?"

"What…"

"Did Jason get a tux?"

"He-"

"Shoes? Your corsage? Did you get his boutonnière?"

"Transportation! Do you have transportation, Beth?"

"A limo? A trolley? A horse-drawn carriage? An antique car? Hm?"

"Do you know what you're doing afterwards?"

"Stop," Elizabeth whimpered, covering her ears with her hands. "You're making my head hurt."

"I should make a lot _more_ of you hurt," Brenda shot back, lifting one hand menacingly. "Honestly, Beth, what were you _thinking_!"

"Gee, I don't know," the brunette simpered sarcastically. "Maybe that I was tired of fighting with my boyfriend and that I wanted to be with him again."

"Trivialities," Carol huffed, waving her manicured fingers at Elizabeth. "Oh, God, I almost forgot – did you set up a nail appointment? No, you didn't, did you?"

Elizabeth closed her eyes tightly, blocking out the seven harsh glares being directed at her, and fell to her side on the crimson couch in the yearbook office. "I wish I was dead."

"Damn!" Jenny was running her also-manicured nails through her auburn hair. "Damn it, Beth, do you see what you're giving us to work with here? Nada! Zip! Zilch! Goose egg!"

The brunette currently sprawled on the couch cracked open an eye. "Goose egg. You know, I've often wondered about the etymology of that particular phrase. It's rather peculiar, isn't it? I have a theory-"

"You are fucking kidding me!" Brenda hissed, bopping her over the head with a white pillow. "Focus, Webber, focus! Prom's in three damn days and we've got nothing!"

"We're going to have to work fast," Lexi Cassidine announced, grabbing a yellow legal pad off one of the desks. "First things first – we make a list."

"Good, good." Sydney was nodding, her hands clasped behind her back as she paced up and down the length of the narrow office. "Start with tickets – does he have them?"

There was no response from the little bundle on the couch – except a lot of whimpering.

Rolling her eyes, Brenda motioned for Carol to toss her the white pillow. Gripping the corner of it firmly in her tightly clenched palm, the brunette let her friend have a good whack upside the head. "Focus, damn you!"

Elizabeth whimpered some more, rubbing her head and trying to burrow into the couch even more. "I don't like any of you."

"Well, we love you tons, sweetums," Emily Bowen cooed, pulling herself up onto the desk where Lexi sat. "And that's why we're not going to let you crash and burn here – we'll get this whole Prom thing figured out somehow."

"No matter what the casualties," Brenda felt inclined to add, shooting Elizabeth a dangerously pointed glare.

"Tickets," Lexi spoke up loudly. "Does he have them?"

Elizabeth's sigh was heavy. "I don't think so. Maybe."

The girls all clucked with horror, but were silenced by a quick wave of Brenda's hand as she turned to dictate to Lexi. "Jot it down but put a little note next to it. Tickets won't be any problem – Sonny can pretty much get any amount he wants up until the dance. They'll have tickets – don't worry about that."

"Oh, to have connections," Carol snickered, perching nimbly on a stool and tossing Brenda a wink. "All hail the all-powerful Brenda B."

"At least the power hasn't gone to her head," Elizabeth griped as she pulled herself up into a sitting position only to have Sydney whack her with Brenda's abandoned pillow. "Ow! What was that for?"

"On sheer principle," Sydney retorted before turning to Lexi. "What's next?"

"Transportation," the slim younger brunette answered matter-of-factly, adjusting her silver glasses. "What are the specs?"

"Any more room in the limo?" Carol wanted to know, glancing at Brenda who was already pulling what had been dubbed "The Prom Book" out of her backpack.

"Lemme check," she mumbled, flipping to the middle of the notebook. "Restaurant…Post-Prom…Oh, here, the limo. Um…no."

"Are you sure?" Sydney asked, peering over her shoulder. "We can't fit in just two more people?"

Brenda was shaking her head sadly. "No, look – we're all filled up. It's for twelve – if we have to add more people, we have to spring for the next size, which is a twenty. And that means we all have to cough up thirty more bucks a piece."

"Damn, I'm broke as it is!" Carol exclaimed, slamming the heels of her hands on the edge of the tall stool she occupied. "Shit! This sucks."

"It's okay, guys," Elizabeth spoke up from her spot on the couch, glancing warily at Jenny to make sure she wasn't going to be whacked with a pillow again. "Jason and I can go in his car. It's no big deal. He won't care – neither do I."

"But we're supposed to go _together_," Emily sighed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. And indeed, to all the girls in the room, it was. "This is senior year, Beth, and it's our Prom – we have to go together."

"I know," Elizabeth agreed gently. "I know that, and I want to hang out with you guys all night, too – but not if everyone has to dig deeper into their pockets. It's only a thirty-minute drive to Windsor Manor – Jason and I will come in his car and we'll meet up with you as soon as we all arrive. You'll see, it'll be fine."

The girls were displeased, but had no choice but to accept. "Fine," Lexi griped, making a quick note on her pad in shorthand. "Transportation's a go."

Her voice was partially drowned out by the bell signaling the end of the period, and all eyes flew to the clock in the room. "Oh, darn," Elizabeth sighed with exaggerated dismay. "There goes the bell. Time for class, gals. This was fun, let's do it again-"

"Sit down again before I go for the pillow, Webber," Brenda warned, lightly pushing her best friend back down. "We're not going anywhere. Girls?"

"Please," Carol huffed. "I've got _gym_. I'm ditching."

"Achieve," Lexi agreed, naming her seminar class for that period. "I don't have to go."

"Independent Study for newspaper," Jenny tossed in.

"I actually have to go." Emily was already grabbing her books. "I have a quiz in Euro. See you guys – and try to shake some sense into Beth while I'm gone."

"Will do," Sydney agreed, waving to her friend as Emily left. "We're not going anywhere, Beth, and neither are you, so wipe that hopeful smirk off your face."

Brenda cocked a perfectly formed eyebrow as her best friend pouted on the couch like a three-year-old. "Oh, the things we do for you, Beth."

* * *

"Jason! Psst, Jason! Damn it, Sonny, move your fat head!"

Looking a little wounded, Sonny scooted back in his seat so that Elizabeth could lean close enough to grab Jason's attention. "Jason!"

"What?" he asked, leaning closer as well. "Why are we whispering?"

His girlfriend didn't waste any words. "Taggert's going to create a distraction and when he does, we run. Put your stuff away."

His confused eyes didn't leave her as Elizabeth shoved her calculator in her purse. At the board, Mr. Alcazar was still blathering on about some proof he claimed would enable them to "dazzle and amaze" their friends at parties – as if they actually sat around at their parties trying to prove that the square root of two was not a fraction. "What are you talking about?"

"We," she bit out, pointing at him and then herself, "are going to make a break for it when Taggert gives the okay."

"But-"

"Damn it, Morgan, just do what I say!"

"Okay, okay," he replied, slowly obliging by shoving his own calculator and pencil into one of the deep pockets of his cargo shorts. "What are we waiting for, exactly?"

"Hey, Czar!" Taggert's booming voice gave Jason the answer he needed, and he turned to see the tall basketball player rise from his seat, shooting Elizabeth a quick wink. In his seat, Luke was smirking at the brunette. Mr. Alcazar turned around, confused, to see Marcus join him at the board. "Isn't that supposed to be the other way around? Like this?"

Sonny snickered when Taggert grabbed the eraser and erased the second half of the third step in the proof, replacing it with well-formed gibberish. Mr. Alcazar stared at it pensively for a moment, and Elizabeth slowly slipped out of her seat, motioning for Jason to do the same.

"Yeah," Lisa agreed, quickly rising from her seat and joining the two men at the board to keep up the diversion. "That looks like it makes sense to me. And then the next line would have to be this…"

Sonny didn't know what was funnier – Elizabeth forcing Jason to sneak out with her or Lisa and Taggert systematically destroying the Czar's painstakingly constructed proof. Their teacher was huffing at the board and his students with frustration and displeasure, not too happy about having to erase their gibberish and reconstruct the proof.

"No, it has to be this way because we know that 2b has to be a multiple of 2, just like a2…" was all Elizabeth heard as she pulled Jason out into the hall and quietly shut the door behind them. Thanks to Taggert, they'd still have a good five minutes before Czar noticed that the two of them were missing – and by that time, it would be "that time again", and he would have lost control of the entire class anyway.

"Come on, let's go," she instructed, twining his fingers with hers and pulling them toward the stairwell. "Hurry, Jason."

"Elizabeth, what's going on?"

Her boyfriend's voice held more patience than the situation deserved, and Elizabeth nibbled on her lip as she glanced warily around the empty halls. "We have to get out of the building. Come on."

As soon as they stepped out onto the pavement, Jason's eyes were on her again, and Elizabeth began to explain. "Sorry about dragging you out like that, but if I wanted to live, I had to do it."

"What are you talking about?"

She rolled her eyes, huffing as they half-ran to his car. "Carol and Brenda are going to hunt me down as soon as the period is over – it was hard enough to convince them that I really couldn't ditch Calc, and they said they'd grab me as soon as it was out. They've been absolutely insane since yesterday, when they pulled me into the yearbook office and chewed my head off. Suffice it to say that I'm not looking forward to that all-girl pow-wow again."

Jason snickered and pulled the door open for her before getting in through his own door and starting the car. "Still psycho about prom?"

"Yeah," Elizabeth sighed. "And they're right…kinda."

"How do you figure?"

Elizabeth frowned at the cross-country track as they passed it on their way off campus. "Well, I don't have a dress, I don't have your boutonnière, I don't know what shoes I'm going to wear, my nail appointment is still iffy, I'm going to have to let Brenda do my hair, and just watch – with my luck, I'll probably run into a million roadblocks and end up looking like the bride of Frankenstein at Prom."

"Elizabeth," Jason clucked, shaking his head as he pressed down on the accelerator and headed toward one of their favorite sandwich joints. "You won't look like the bride of Frankenstein. Your hair isn't big enough."

The corner of her mouth hooked up. "I'll look scary anyway – just mark my words. I'm probably going to have to let Bren do my makeup, too, since I don't know the first thing about it. Oh, boy."

"You don't need all that gunk on your face to look pretty," Jason reminded her, his eyes trained on the road but softening. "You're beautiful without. You could go to Prom in that dress you wore last week and with no makeup at all and you'd still be gorgeous."

"Aw, Jason," Elizabeth couldn't help but sigh, her eyes sparkling at his words. "Thank you – that's so sweet. _You're_ so sweet." She shook her head once, her eyes reflecting mock pity when he glanced at her. "And sadly, still _such_ a clueless boy."

* * *

"I hate my life."

Carol crossed her arms over her ample bosom, glaring at Beth as the petite brunette sank down on one of the mannequin pedestals, letting her forehead fall to her knees and covering her head with her arms. "Yeah, well, I'd hate my life, too, if it was Friday afternoon and I still didn't have a Prom dress."

"Bite me, Carol."

"Careful," the blonde remarked, waving one perfectly manicured finger at her friend. "People have said that to me and I have done it – don't underestimate me, Beth."

Elizabeth muttered something unclear but certainly caustic under her breath, but fortunately for her own physical well-being, Carol didn't hear her. Instead, the blonde's eyes were averted to a nearby door that a very flushed and flustered Brenda Barrett had just come barreling through.

"OK, I'm here, I'm here!" she panted, removing her hair from where it stuck to her glossed lips and fixing the waist of her low-rise denim cut-offs. "I love how empty the Wyndham's parking lot is-Beth, why are you _sitting_! Is this any time to sit? Prom's in twenty-four hours and you still don't have a dress! Oh, God, only a miracle could save us now. Come on, get your butt off the stand and let's get to work."

"_Jawohl, mein Fuhrer_," Elizabeth mumbled, fishing around blindly for her hemp purse and pulling herself up with Carol's help.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, ma'am."

* * *

"Beth, come out of the dressing room."

"No!"

"_Beth_…"

"NO!"

"Elizabeth Imogene Webber, don't make me-"

"I SAID NO!"

"Dude, your middle name's _Imogene_?" Carol couldn't help but ask with a smirk. "Seriously? Like, for real?"

Even though Elizabeth was out of sight, waves of anger radiated through the flimsy door of her stall. "It's my gramma's name, okay? Stuff it, Carol _Jean_ Roberts!"

"Hey! That's my mom's name!"

"Whatever!" Brenda was massaging her temples, wishing she had taken four Extra Strength Advils instead of two. "Get out of the stall before I come in there and drag you out!"

"No!"

"Why not, Beth?" she huffed impatiently, both hands on her fist as Carol plopped down on one of the sofa chairs in defeat. "Give me one good reason."

"Because…I look fat."

Carol couldn't help it – she burst out laughing. "What! You look _fat_!"

"Oh, sure, announce it to everyone and God, why don't you?" Elizabeth exclaimed, and the waves of anger promptly became waves of humiliation. "You need to come with Volume Control. Specifically – Mute."

Despite her best attempts, Brenda couldn't keep the laughter out of her voice. "Beth, trust me, honey, I'm _positive_ that you can't look fat in that dress."

"You're not seein' what I'm seein'."

"Beth, come on!" Carol burst out, stamping her Steve Madden's on the carpet. "You're about as fat all around as one of my thighs. Get your anorexic ass out here, Thumbelina. There's no way you look fat."

"You're not seein' what I'm seein'."

"Oh, that's it, I'm crawling under the door!" Brenda announced, shrugging her purse off. "Carol – hold this for me."

"No!" Elizabeth shrieked, her panic-filled voice catching the attention of a nearby clerk at the Customer Service desk. "Ok, fine, I'll come out."

"Atta girl," Carol encouraged, sitting back comfortably in her seat. "Show us the goods, sweets."

Mumbling something dark and unpleasant, a perturbed Elizabeth slinked out from a crack in the door of the stall, looking less than thrilled in the floor-length silver gown she wore. She stood uneasily, fidgeting like a nervous filly, waiting for criticism and at the same time dreading it. Brenda and Carol remained silent, both perusing her carefully from different angles, and eventually, Elizabeth was unable to take any more.

"Hello? Siskel and Ebert? You guys care to part with your opinions sometime this century?"

"That's not it," Carol replied bluntly. "Try another dress on."

"I knew it!" Elizabeth threw her hands in the air with dismay. "I look fat."

Brenda, smirking, skipped over to her best friend and firmly put her hands on her shoulders. "Beth, you do _not_ look fat. It's just that silver is _so_ not your color – it washes you out. Try out the purple one."

"I hate purple," Elizabeth pouted. "And it has silver sparkles on it. It should have died with disco."

"Bite your tongue," Brenda gasped, horrified at her friend's negative attitude toward disco music. "Go try the blue one instead."

* * *

"Beth, get out here."

"No."

"Beth, I swear to God-"

"NO!"

"What's the problem this time, Tubby? There's no way you look fat – get your ass out here!"

"I SAID NO!"

"Oh, for the love of God, what the hell could you be bitching about _now_?"

A whoosh of air whipped through Brenda's hair as Elizabeth flung the door of her stall open and stalked out in front of her two friends who had now become three. Not even sparing Sydney a glance, she stared down her best friend and quietly bit out, "I'm too short."

Brenda glanced down at the floor, and sure enough, inches of fabric were pooled on the carpet, hiding Elizabeth's feet from view. "Hmm…"

"Wow….dude, you're tiny," Carol felt the need to add, not seeing how Sydney rolled her eyes. "I mean, I always knew you were small, but I never realized…wow. What's your height? Are you legally a midget?"

"Oh, will you stuff it, Carol?" Brenda exclaimed, whirling on the blonde with quirked brows. "You're not helping at all!"

"Do you think it would be okay with heels?" Sydney asked. "I'm sure we could find matching ones."

"It's too long," Elizabeth explained helplessly, lifting the fabric high up on her milk-white calves. "The highest I can go in terms of heels is four inches – I'll be sure to fall over if I exceed that. And trust me, this dress…no."

"Okay, try on another one," Brenda sighed. "We'll be right here."

* * *

"Beth, are you done yet?"

"No."

"You're lying, aren't you?"

"No."

"Yes, you are! You get out here!"

"NO!"

"Holy hell, Beth, what's the problem now? This dress was perfect! It's blue – you like blue! It's the perfect length – you're tiny! It doesn't have any of the sparkles that you hate because you're weird. What's the problem now?"

Silence.

"Beth?"

Still nothing.

"DAMN IT, WEBBER-"

Again, a whoosh of air met Brenda's face as Elizabeth stormed out to face her, her nostrils flaring and her hands clutching the fabric of her dress. "Look! Look at me! Look at how ridiculous I look!"

"You look fine," Carol answered slowly, raking a gaze up and down her friend but still not seeing any problem. "Where's the bad?"

"The _bad_," Elizabeth replied, removing her hands from the top of the gown but holding it in place by clamping her arms down tightly at her side, "is that I have _nothing_ to hold this dress up."

Sydney squinted at her, uncomprehending. "Dude, that's what your boobs are for."

Carol smirked, but Elizabeth wasn't nearly as amused. "Boobs? Yeah, sure – or lack thereof."

Brenda rolled her eyes, snapping her Trident loudly. "Beth, please – you _have_ boobs."

"Nuh-uh," Elizabeth replied. "Not enough for this Anna-Nicole-Smith-number here. You need endowments as big as Harvard's to look decent in this. The only person here who could probably pull this off is Carol."

"What?" The blonde was certain she had heard wrong. "No way – Syd's way bigger than I am!"

"Wait – what?" Now it was Sydney who was having a hard time believing her ears. "Are you freaking joking? Are you kidding me? Yours are so totally bigger than mine."

"No – yours are!"

"No way!"

Brenda rolled her eyes for the millionth time in the span of two hours, drowning out the sounds of Sydney and Carol arguing over their mammary glands and focusing on her best friend. "Personally, I think you look just fine in that dress, but if you feel even the teensiest bit uncomfortable, then there's no point. Wanna try on something else?"

"I'm all done," Elizabeth replied sadly, shrugging in the general direction of the overflowing dressing room. "There aren't any more dresses to _try_. And I just want to go home."

Taking in the dejected and disappointed set of her friend's shoulders, Brenda nodded slowly. "Okay, let's go. We'll find something, Beth – don't worry."

"I don't see how," the brunette mumbled, already walking back to her stall to get rid of the offensive clothing. At this rate, she'd probably end up going to the prom in jeans.

* * *

"I don't know what to do, Gram," Elizabeth sighed, poking at her brownie. "For the longest time, I was so set on going to Prom, and then Jason got hurt and it…it just didn't seem important anymore. And then there was a chance I wouldn't get to go after all and I kinda accepted that, and now that I actually can go…I have nothing."

"Nothing, darling?"

The brunette shook her head sadly, her two loosely formed buns swaying with the movement. "Nope. I don't have shoes or a purse or a boutonnière, my nail appointment is non-existent, I'm on my own when it comes to hair and makeup and I don't even have a dress."

"Oh, dear." Audrey frowned to herself, sipping her hot cocoa. It was ten o'clock at the Webber house and both women were seated at the kitchen table where Audrey had pulled out the brownies and cocoa in hopes that it would cheer her granddaughter up. "That is quite a problem. And what about Jason?"

Elizabeth snorted. "See, that's the unfair part – guys don't have to do _anything_ for Prom, Gram. He's got his tux – apparently he owns one; do you believe that? I thought Sonny was the only dork with his own tuxedo – and he's got his shoes and his tie and his dumb cummerbund although I'll bet you my piano that he won't wear it. Or the tie. In fact, I'm lucky if he puts on the jacket. Anyway, he's got the outfit, he's going to wear his hair like he does every single dumb day, he has his car, and he has the tickets. Stupid Jason."

Audrey smiled tenderly. "And meanwhile, you…"

"Have nothing."

"Well, now, let's not make rash statements," her Gram guided gently. "You do have tickets, after all, and plans for afterwards, am I correct?"

Elizabeth nodded begrudgingly. "We're all sleeping over at Brenda's after the dance and going to the city all weekend. That's the plan so far."

"And as for nails, well, darling, to be honest, I never saw the value in going out and getting them done. To me, they look horribly artificial. And after all, you have such pretty fingers…"

The brunette laughed as her grandmother lovingly stroked her hand. "Oh, Gram."

"You do, darling," the old woman insisted. "And there are several solutions – what if you decide to wear opera gloves? Then it won't matter if your nails are done or not. The only time you'll take the gloves off would be at dinner, and I should imagine that it would be much easier to handle your silverware, dear, if you didn't have three inch hunks of plastic synthetically appended to each, well, appendage."

Elizabeth laughed to herself, her mind turning over the first idea her grandmother had mentioned. "Gloves? Opera gloves? You think…you think I could do that?"

"Why, of course, darling," Audrey assured her. "Opera gloves do look remarkably classy, after all."

"And old-fashioned, too," Elizabeth sighed dreamily. "Like old Hollywood in its golden age. Wow."

"Yes, I suppose so. An Audrey-Hepburn style, almost, don't you think?"

"Yeah! Oh, but…darn. They have to match my dress. My non-existent dress."

"I thought you went shopping with the girls today," Audrey pointed out, lightly blowing on her hot chocolate. "And yesterday afternoon as well, for that matter."

"I did," Elizabeth sighed wearily. "I found absolutely nothing. All the good dresses are already taken, and I have the hardest time finding my size anyway. And each dress was either too long or too low or just too ugly. You know, I remember being a sophomore and watching all the senior girls get ready for Prom and stuff, and I'd think about how I wanted my Prom to be – I wanted to have the perfect dress, Gram. I didn't care about anything else – I just knew I wanted the perfect dress. The dress that just screamed 'me', you know?"

"And what kind of dress would that be, darling?" Audrey asked lightly, watching her granddaughter carefully over the rim of her black mug.

Elizabeth stared contemplatively at the colored-glass mini-chandelier in the kitchen. "I don't know – something…unusual. Like, unique – that no other girl has. I don't want ruffles and silk and all that stuff – I want something plain and simple and sleek and elegant. I don't care if it's strapless or collared or anything…I don't want any weird prints or sparkles or doo-dads on it. I don't want it to be too long or too short, and I definitely don't want any ridiculously long slits. And I kinda always pictured it as being sleeveless…I don't know." She shrugged helplessly, quirking a half-smile at her Gram before sipping her cocoa. "I guess I need a miracle to find a dress like that on the night before Prom."

Audrey's pale blue eyes sparkled. "Perhaps. Or maybe…all you need is a Gram."

* * *

"Beth? Beth! I'm here!" Brenda Barrett let herself in through Elizabeth's front door, earning a displeased glance from her father who sat in the adjacent living room trying to catch up on the paper. "Oh, hi, Mr. Webber. How 'bout them Yanks?"

Without even waiting for an answer, she quickly shed her light summer jacket and shoes and sprinted up the stairs, leaving Jeff to mumble something about crazed teenage daughters and go back to his reading. She flew to Elizabeth's bedroom but finding it empty – and irritatingly tidy – she called out once more. "Beth?"

"Bren? Is that you?"

"Yeah," she replied, still standing in Elizabeth's room and trying to hear her friend's voice. "Dude, where are you?"

"Gram's room! Get over here!"

"Coming!" She raced out of the room but only made it two paces down the hall before she sprinted back and scattered Elizabeth's neatly stacked papers and books all over her desk. After dropping a feather boa and a random stuffed chicken on her nightstand and throwing some dress-up hats on Elizabeth's chair, Brenda ran out to join her friend. A little clutter wouldn't possibly hurt Elizabeth – after all, messiness was the mother of discovery. And besides, it was shown that people with messy rooms fell victim to far fewer allergies – she was willing to bet her Dr. Pepper chap stick that Little Miss Statistics didn't know that one.

She saw Audrey before she saw Elizabeth, and the old woman was kneeling on the floor with a few pins sticking out of her mouth. "Gram Web! Hi!"

"Omm, Brnda drlng," Audrey managed to get out around the pins she held. "Cmmn nn."

Giggling, Brenda flounced in on her toes, ready to find out what all the excitement was about. "Dude, Beth, here I am! What's going on? You called me and said to get over- Oh, my God." All thought immediately flew from her head as soon as Brenda laid eyes on her best friend, standing in front of her grandmother's full-length mirror in the most elegant black dress Brenda had seen – and she'd seen _lots_ of black dresses, too, what with it being her signature color and all. "Oh, my God."

Elizabeth's grin was brighter than the two-hundred-watt bulb in Audrey's floor lamp. "I know! Don't you love it?"

"Beth!" Brenda couldn't help but squeal and jump up and down. "Oh, my God, that dress – it's PERFECT! Where did you get it? Holy cow!"

"It's Gram's," Elizabeth announced, beaming with pride as Audrey adjusted the lower portions of the dress around her narrow waist. "She made it back before I was born – can you believe it?"

"Oooh, Gram Web," Brenda breathed silently, circling her best friend like a very appreciative vulture. "It's gorgeous."

"Why, thank you, dear," Audrey smiled, finally removing the pins from her mouth. "I was listening to Elizabeth bemoan her dress troubles, and I immediately thought of this dress. And the best part is that I don't even have to adjust it too much. It should be done by tomorrow without any problem."

"So this is it, huh?" Brenda grinned, perching herself on the edge of Audrey's bed. "This is the dress?"

"This is the dress," Elizabeth grinned proudly back. "Oh, it's perfect, isn't it?"

"Definitely."

"And Gram has these awesome white opera gloves that she said I could wear with this – ooh, Bren, I'm so excited!"

"Me too!" Brenda yipped, swinging her bare feet from the bed. "And hey – you don't even have to do your nails if you don't want."

"I'm not going to," Elizabeth agreed. "Just another hassle. I'll have to worry about making sure not to mess them up and stuff and I don't have the patience for that."

"Am I still doing your hair?"

"Do you still want to?"

"Sure!" Brenda tapped her chin thoughtfully, tipping her head to the side. "I'm trying to think of what would look best. Do you think it should be down or up?"

"I'm inclined to say up, dear," Audrey spoke up, adjusting the hem of the skirt. "It would show off her jewelry nicely – Elizabeth, your mother has a lovely black opal set that I'm sure she'd lend you. It would look simply charming."

"Up it is," Brenda announced. "I'm thinking we can curl it, kinda, and put it up in one of those wispy buns that look like it took forever to get just right."

"Sounds good," Elizabeth agreed. "Maybe a comb or flower or something?"

Brenda was nodding until something occurred to her, and she stopped, an excited gleam in her eyes. "Or…a tiara."

Elizabeth blinked. "What? A tiara?"

"Yeah!" The slim brunette perched on the bed was clapping her hands with excitement. "A silver tiara! Oh, I saw the perfect one at Wyndham's – we'll pick it up tomorrow; I have to get some pantyhose anyway. It'll look so cute!"

Audrey was laughing to herself, and Elizabeth glanced down curiously at her. "Gram? What's so funny?"

"Nothing, darling," her Gram replied, her blue eyes twinkling. "It's just that you really _will_ be looking like Audrey Hepburn."

* * *

"Morgan."

_"Hey."_

Jason leaned back against the pillows, suddenly a little less aggravated about being pulled out of a deep sleep. "Hey, yourself. What's going on?"

_"Guess what?"_

"I don't _guess_, Elizabeth. I'm no good at guessing games."

_"Jason! Fine – I'll just tell you."_ There was a brief pause and he could almost hear her excitement in the silence. _"I found the perfect dress."_

"Oh." He nodded once. "That's good."

_"Jason! 'That's good'! That's all you're going to say? This is a freaking miracle, Morgan! The Prom gods like me again! I must offer sacrifices tomorrow at the alter of the lace garters and pantyhose, and pour the sacrificial wine and-"_

"OK, OK, it's…more than good?"

_"You bet it is! I'm going to look like Audrey Hepburn. That's what Gram said."_

"Who?"

_"Audrey Hepburn."_

"Um…"

_"Jason! Don't tell me you don't know who Audrey Hepburn is!"_

"Um…"

_"Oh, Jason. You rip me to shreds for not having seen the Godfather, and yet you have no idea who Audrey Hepburn is? You have got to get your movie-watching priorities in order, Mister!"_

He laughed, running a hand through his hair and settling back more comfortably. "Okay, okay, I'll figure out who Audrey Hepburn is. Are you happy?"

There was no missing the contentment in her voice. _"Very."_ A brief pause met his ears before her voice did. _"Jason?"_

"Yeah?"

_"I'm glad we're going together."_

He grinned into the phone. "Yeah. Me, too." Well, it was only half the truth – he wasn't too keen on going to Prom, but he was glad to be able to share it with Elizabeth regardless. If she wanted to go, that was more than reason enough for him to go and do his best not to ruin the night.

_"I was so worried there for a while. I mean, I wasn't, but then the girls all ganged up on me and it felt like everything was speeding by me. There were so many different things I needed to decide that I needed to have decided two months ago, you know? I felt like I was being pulled in a million directions at once, and to be honest, I kinda forgot to just enjoy the process. You only get to do this once."_

Now was not the time for him to insert a snippy comment about how dumb the whole "process" was, so Jason just nodded agreeably even though Elizabeth couldn't see him. "Well, see, that's the thing – everything worked out fine, didn't it? Sometimes, you just gotta live through things slow if you're going to make it. If you stay in the moment and keep a clear head, nothing's too difficult to get through."

_"Ah, another precious gem from Captain Aphorism."_

The laughter in her voice was contagious and he grinned into the receiver of his cell phone even as he tried to sound hurt. "You woke me up at a quarter to one to abuse me?"

_"Hey! I'm serious! I like that – live through it slow. That's what I want to do. I want to live through everything slow. If life's supposed to be one big learning experience, then you really shouldn't let anything pass you by. Live through it slow. I like that."_

"I thought you might."

There was a comfortable silence before Elizabeth broke it. _"Jason?"_

"Yeah?"

_"I'm sorry I woke you up when you were so obviously in bed."_

He smirked wickedly. "Elizabeth, feel free – no, feel _encouraged_ – to wake me up when I'm in bed any time."

She blushed a pretty pink, as Jason knew she would, and stammered out a goodbye. "I'll – uh – see you tomorrow, Jason."

"See you tomorrow, Elizabeth."


	27. For Some Doll

**For Some Doll**

Jason Morgan was _not _a happy camper.

Dressed in his tuxedo pants and a white wifebeater, he scowled as Sonny walked into his house, followed immediately by a bunch of other guys.

"Corinthos," he snarled, quickly descending the steps and advancing on the group. "You wanna tell me what the hell you guys are doing here?"

"I told you over the phone," Sonny sighed. "The girls are meeting us here. We're all supposed to change, and then they're going to come over and put on their makeup or whatever, and then we're supposed to take pictures in your backyard."

"Okay," Jason ground out humorlessly, his intense eyes flashing. "Now, you'll have to humor me here – why the _hell _are we doing that?"

"Because that's what Brenda said," came the simple reply.

"And you know how whipped Sonny is," Ryan joked, making a noise of a cracking whip as the other boys laughed. Sonny scowled darkly and punched him in the shoulder before grabbing his suit and stalking downstairs to the basement.

"I have to change," was all they heard as he disappeared from view.

The boys milled around, eventually finding themselves in the kitchen as they scrounged for food. Jason followed them suspiciously, his eyes trained on the group warily as they pulled out some cereal and then went searching for something with which to make sandwiches. There was a significant bunch – Sonny who was still in the basement, Ryan, Charlie, Johnny, Taggert, Michael, Alex Smith, Luke, and they were expecting Steven Lars – Carol's date – to drop by later as well.

Scowling, Jason grabbed a box of cereal from Taggert's hand and crammed his fist into it, drawing out a handful to munch on. He was going to kill Brenda as soon as the little midget came over. Who the hell did she think she was, commissioning his house off to her Prom Insanity committee? He was going to snap that little twig in two first and worry about Sonny later.

He stalked barefoot into the den with the box of cereal still in his hand and headed for the stereo. He needed to hear something loud and something fast before he put his fist through the wall. Stupid Brenda. Stupid Sonny. Stupid Prom.

All his plans had been dashed with the arrival of his so-called friends that were insane enough to go to Prom willingly. He had waken up late, eaten brunch in his underwear and then read a book for a while before getting up to shower. And then he'd pulled on his tuxedo pants and grabbed an undershirt and that was when the Stepford Men had arrived. And soon, the girls were going to be here with their damn dresses and their damn makeup and their damn screaming and their damn cameras.

Damn it all.

And what was worse, his parents were entirely thrilled about the fact that he was going to the ridiculous dance. They had shifts lasting until the afternoon but they had promised to be home in time to greet Elizabeth and get pictures of them together.

Just freaking great.

He collapsed in the recliner and put his feet up, telling himself that if he concentrated hard enough, he could will the whole evening away. He wouldn't have to go to the ridiculous dance and instead, Elizabeth could just come over and they could spend a couple hours making out on the couch in the basement…

His lips had just relaxed into a soft, sly smile when Johnny and a bunch of the other guys burst into the den, armed with food. They sprawled out on the couch and floor without being invited to do so, and Jason could only scowl at them as they ate his chips. Bastards. All of them.

Damn Brenda.

Jason wiggled his toes as he burrowed further back into the recliner. Truth be told, he felt a little guilty about ragging on the Prom so much. After all, Elizabeth wanted to go and that was reason enough for him to do so. He wanted to make her happy and if she wanted to spend all night dancing around in a sweltering, cramped room with a couple hundred of their closer friends in a frilly princess dress and five inch heels, who was he to complain?

The tall blonde groaned and kicked himself. He was doing it again.

Well, no more. He was going to suck it up and find some sort of pleasant attitude somehow and make sure the night was everything Elizabeth had imagined, because she was his girlfriend and he loved her and that was reason enough.

Damn Brenda.

"I hope none of the girls wear anything frilly or poofy," Johnny was announcing, licking mustard from his fingers as he polished off his sandwich. "It's hard to get through fifteen layers of gauze to anything underneath, if you know what I mean."

Laughter echoed through the room and Jason rolled his eyes. He had nothing against getting a little action, naturally, but he just thought that using Prom night as an excuse was ridiculous. Prom was hardly a momentous enough occasion for some girl to lose her virginity to some putz in a rented suit.

The thought made him frown; he hoped Elizabeth didn't think that he expected her to put out tonight.

But as soon as it occurred to him, Jason was easily able to see how foolish it was. It was silly of him to think that Elizabeth would worry about that – she knew him well enough and Jason didn't have anything to be worried about. He had never pressured her about sex and he wasn't planning on doing so tonight – she knew that.

"Laura's wearing some sort of ruffled thing, from what I understand," Luke got out around a mouthful of crackers. "She was making a huge deal about it and I didn't have the heart to tell her that she lost me after 'blue'."

Taggert glanced up at the mention of Luke's girlfriend from a neighboring high school. "I haven't seen Laura in forever – how's life treating her?"

"Everything's very cool with my little Swiss Miss," Luke replied easily, stuffing some more crackers into his mouth and reaching for his soda.

"I saw Lexi's dress," Ryan declared, wiggling his eyebrows. "I'm not gonna lie – it's pretty damn awesome."

"Nowhere near as awesome as Leah's," Johnny boasted. "Her older brother was milling around at her place when she tried it on for me – I nearly got the crap kicked out of me for the look on my face."

Jason smirked at that and the tall Irish boy's green eyes darted over to him. "So, Jason – what's Beth wearing?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

The boys stopped eating and just stared at him. Was he serious? "You mean you've never seen it?" Luke asked. "She didn't model it for you?"

"And ask which shoes went best with it?" Taggert asked with a grimace, remembering the almost-fight he'd had with Dara over stilettos or sandals.

"Or if her garter matched?" Michael asked, brushing his red hair out of his eyes. "I swear, Leticia made me choose from a whole bunch of 'em."

Jason's sandy brows furrowed. "What the hell's a garter?"

A giant grin appeared on Luke's face. "The best part," he confided with a wink.

Michael laughed, kicking his friend in the shin. "It's basically just an elastic band made of satin or whatever with little bows and shit that fits around the girls' legs."

"Thighs," Luke corrected. "Right up there, if you know where I'm talking about."

Jason leaned forward, intrigued now. "So what do-"

Sonny chose that exact moment to walk into the room, buttoning up his tuxedo shirt. He stopped and stared at his friends, all of whom lay about stuffing their faces with food. "Aren't you guys going to get dressed? The girls will be here soon."

"Whipped," Johnny coughed into his fist, scooting away when Sonny advanced on him menacingly.

Charlie and Ace wandered out from the kitchen, each with a can of soda. "The Don's right," Ace admitted reluctantly. "Emily just called me and said that we'd better be ready by now."

"Eh," Michael shrugged, leaning back comfortably against the couch. "We've got time."

"Yeah, we've got lots of time," the others agreed.

Still standing in the middle of the room, Sonny shook his head. "No way – the girls are going to _massacre _you losers if they come here and you're not in those suits. Get up right now if you want to avoid a bloodbath."

Grunting and scowling, the boys reluctantly followed the President's orders but not without making the sound of a flying whip under their breaths as they left the room.

* * *

"Hey, boys!" Brenda Barrett called out gleefully as she waltzed across Jason's foyer. "Fellas! Your dates have arrived!"

The brunette was dressed in a stunning red dress that lapped at her ankles and her hair was done up in lovely curls. The material clung to her like a second skin and bared a large expanse of her back, and she absolutely _loved _the little number. It showed in her step as she danced across the hallway to where she thought she heard voices. The girls behind her dropped their bags in the foyer and followed her lead.

"All right," Brenda called out, her patience wearing thin. "Where are you morons?"

As if on cue, Sonny Corinthos sidled out of the kitchen, impeccably dressed in his handsome tuxedo and looking absolutely dashing in the starched and pressed outfit. His lips curled into a grin, showcasing his dimples, as he strolled up to his girlfriend and took her in his arms.

"Brenda," he growled, letting his warm breath fan out across her lips as he leaned down into her. "You look amazing."

She giggled and then his lips met hers as he cradled her in his arms. Emily rolled her eyes and made gagging noises before skirting around the two in search of her own man. "Ace? I swear to God, if you're still in your jeans, I'm _so _dumping your ass-"

"Looking for me?" he asked, appearing from the bathroom with a rakish grin on his face. The brunette's heart skipped a beat when his dark hair fell into his eyes and he brushed it back, still grinning at her. The boy looked good enough to eat. "Does this meet with your approval?" he asked, standing still as she approached him.

"And then some," the brunette muttered wickedly, a sultry gleam in her eyes. Before Alex could reach for her, Leticia pushed her way past them on her quest to find her own red-haired boyfriend who was currently using Jason's gel to pull his own hair into spikes. The other girls quickly found their dates and that was when Brenda started doing inventory.

"There are enough bathrooms here, right?" she asked Sonny, pulling a folded piece of paper out of the top of her dress. She straightened it out and grabbed a pencil from the kitchen counter. "We still have to put on our makeup and I'll probably need to fix up Leticia and Emily's hair – and Beth, if she ever gets here."

"Where is the little gidget?" Johnny asked, stuffing some of AJ's gummy bears into his mouth. "Wasn't she supposed to come with you girls?"

"Well, we all dropped our stuff at Brenda's for the sleepover tonight – you know, after you guys left," Emily informed him, snagging a couple of gummy bears from his broad hand. "Beth called us then and told us she was running late – something about her father having kittens."

Sonny smirked at that. "Jason's in such deep shit," he muttered. "Poor bastard."

"Okay, moving on," Brenda announced, checking some things off her list. "Jason and Beth haven't dropped their stuff at my place yet. Actually, Beth will probably take care of that on her way over, so we need to remind Jason to bring his junk over afterwards."

"What junk?" Ace shrugged. "The only thing any of us brought was our pajamas and a toothbrush. He'll manage."

Brenda ignored him. "It's still nice and sunny out, meaning that we should probably take pictures soon. Our parents will be coming over in a little while and the limo gets here an hour after that – I think we'll be fine."

"Good," Sonny muttered under his breath. As much as he liked order and organization, this dance had turned his girlfriend into a maniac. He was looking forward to afterwards when they could all just have some fun. "So let's-"

"Brenda!" A tall, broad figure thundered down the stairs to the lower level where the whole gang stood, and all the girls stared at Jason as he stomped over to the petite brunette. "What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"What do you mean, Jason?" she asked in a deliberately bored voice.

"I _mean_," he ground out, narrowing his lethal blue eyes. "Who the hell told you that you could tell all these losers to come over to my place? And for what? Some lame-ass pictures and-"

"You have the best back yard, Morgan," she replied flippantly, stepping around him and not caring one bit when he growled under his throat and whipped around to face her. "So here we all are. Deal with it."

"I'm-"

"You're what?" she challenged, and Sonny groaned when he saw that wicked gleam in her eyes. He should have warned his friend not to tango with Brenda when she was in this mood – she'd step on his toes and every other part she could reach. The girl was merciless sometimes. "You're going to toss us out?" He remained silent. "You're going to insist that we do this elsewhere, that you can't be bothered by it? That we call all the parents and tell them to meet us somewhere else, that we tell the limo to arrive somewhere else?" A cheeky smile curved her lips. "Jason, do you really want to be the Grinch that stomps all over Prom?"

"I want to be the Grinch that stomps all over _you_," he muttered, crossing his arms over his tuxedo shirt.

"You wouldn't want to do any of that," Brenda purred, settling her hands on his shoulders and ignoring his last comment. The boys exchanged nervous glances while the girls exchanged pleased smiles. "You wouldn't want to be the one single-handedly responsible for ruining Prom for Beth, would you?"

He didn't say anything and Brenda just grinned smugly up at him, her hands still on his shoulders. The guys murmured sympathetically, tossing in, "It's okay, Jason."

"You never had a chance, man," Sonny informed him with a sad shake of his head.

The mood lightened even though Jason remained glaring angrily down at a cheeky Brenda, and Emily broke the silence when she suddenly noticed the music. "Hey – this is Bohemian Rhapsody! Great pick, Jason."

"Didn't you know?" Brenda purred innocently, batting her long lashes. "It's a special thing for him and Beth – it's kinda _their song_." The girls cooed and _awww_ed just for the sake of making Jason blush, which he did. To further add to his discomfort and displeasure, Brenda reached up and pinched his cheeks between her thumb and index. "Isn't that just the cutest thing ever?"

Jason scowled and wrestled himself away from the petite brunette as Carol laughed. "Yeah," she grinned, "it's because he's so whipped."

* * *

"Girls, you look absolutely enchanting!" Lila Morgan was beside herself with glee as the lovely young ladies paraded around in front of her in their elegant dresses. "Just radiant!"

Edward Morgan muttered something to the like as he helped Sonny fix his bow-tie, complaining that "the youth of today have no idea how to do things properly". Alan and Monica were still running around looking for extra rolls of film – they planned to go through several tonight, damn it – and Jason had retreated to the safe confines of his bedroom as he finished putting on the loathsome tuxedo.

Elizabeth still hadn't arrived, and Brenda was getting worried. She had occupied herself with making sure that her friends' hair looked stunning and their accessories were all accounted for. The makeup was done and the parents would be arriving any minute for pictures, and she was a nervous wreck. Her best friend wasn't even answering her cellphone, and Brenda resolved to pounce on her the minute she walked in.

The doorbell rang just then, as if on cue, and little AJ ran for it immediately. "It's Beth! It's Beth! I'll get it!" He pulled the heavy white door open wide and immediately greeted the petite brunette who was waiting on the other side. "Beth! You're here! You look pretty."

"Thanks, Junior," she smiled, tousling his hair as he stepped aside to let her in. "Everyone's already here, huh?"

"They're all waiting for you," AJ informed her as he led her into the house. "Brenda was saying something about clawing your eyes out if you didn't show up in time."

"Naturally," the brunette replied, suppressing her smile. She walked into the main room where all her friends stood and was instantly greeted with a chorus of yells.

"Beth's here!"

"Beth!"

"Hey, Gidget – you look _smokin'_!"

"Is that a tiara? How come I didn't think of that?"

"I'm going to claw your _eyes _out!"

"Told you," AJ whispered to her before slipping out of the room. Normally, he liked all his brother's friends – but tonight, everyone had just gone crazy.

The girls cooed over Elizabeth's outfit as the brunette shifted awkwardly. The dress was long and black and wrapped around her like a glove. It was sleeveless and strapless, coming to two peaks over her breasts. The black contrasted beautifully with her unmarred alabaster skin, and the slit up the sides showed the length of one creamy leg when she turned just right. Her shoes were simple black stilettos that added three inches to her height, and her curled hair had been styled up earlier by Brenda's clever digits, and now a silver tiara twinkled over the nest of chocolate ringlets. Her nails were clean and bare, and a pair of white opera gloves was slung over her slender arm.

"Grandmother's gonna want to see you," Sonny remarked dryly, taking her elbow and extricating her from the girls. "She's been talking about nothing else but 'Jason's little Elizabeth' for the past twenty minutes."

"Thanks," Elizabeth whispered, a pretty pink blush stealing across her cheeks as she peeked back at her group of gal pals. "I don't know how much more of that I would have been able to take."

"No problem," Sonny replied easily, slipping an arm over her shoulder. "You look cute, by the way."

"Thanks, you, too," she answered, eying him up and down. "Cummerbund?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I kinda like 'em."

Lila Morgan was seated on a stately arm chair when Elizabeth and Sonny entered the room together. Her pale blue eyes instantly lit up as soon as they found the petite brunette, and she raised both of her gnarled, old hands, beckoning the child over.

"Elizabeth, my darling, come here, come here." The soft hands wrapped around Elizabeth's long fingers as the old woman gazed at her. "You look positively royal!"

Sonny smiled and slipped away to find Edward – his bowtie was coming loose again – and Elizabeth blushed at the compliment. "Thank you, Grandmother." She had taken to calling the old woman that from the first time she met her, but only because Lila insisted.

Jason chose that moment to come tumbling down the stairs, dressed in the pestiferous tuxedo, and he stopped the minute his eyes landed on Elizabeth. She was standing in front of his grandmother and the old woman was holding her hands, talking to her, and Elizabeth's eyes were sparkling as she laughed. His eyes lingered on her crown of curls as his fingers twitched, wanting nothing more than to run through them and free them from their constraints. He lingered on her delicate, swan-like neck before letting his gaze drift to her creamy shoulders and the cleavage visible through what had to be the world's sexiest 'little black dress'.

And when Elizabeth shifted, revealing one slender, supple thigh of creamy alabaster, Jason suddenly wanted to recant all his noble, stand-off-ish thoughts about not pressuring her for sex. Holy _crap_.

Swallowing hard, he took the remaining few steps that carried him into the room. His grandmother noticed him first and smiled, causing Elizabeth to turn. Her intense midnight blues sparkled when they met his, and Jason slipped up easily next to her and wrapped his arm possessively around her tiny waist. He leaned in, and then remembering that his grandmother was right there, just pulled her into his side.

Lila was watching the two young lovers with a twinkle in her eyes, and she slowly smoothed away invisible wrinkles from the pale pink gown she wore. "Jason, darling, aren't you going to greet your date?"

The young woman blushed at the mischievous lilt in the matron's voice, but Jason knew how to handle her. "Not with you around," he answered honestly, his own eyes twinkling when his grandmother laughed.

"All right, then," she smiled, slowly rising from the couch. "I won't keep you." With that, she turned and walked away to help her husband with Sonny's incorrigible bow tie.

Elizabeth was laughing when Jason's lips crashed into hers, and she allowed him to pull her against his hard frame. He ravaged her mouth, leaving her light-headed and extremely grateful that she was wearing Color Stay Lipstick. Her hands settled on his neck when he pulled back, stormy blue eyes gazing deeply into her own.

"You look nice."

She chuckled at his growled compliment. "So do you – you clean up really well, Mr. Morgan."

He smirked and lowered his face to hers once more. Their noses bumped innocently as Elizabeth wrapped her hands around his neck, frowning suddenly. "Jason?"

"What?"

"Are you okay? You feel kind of warm – you sure you're all right? You're not getting sick, are you?"

"I feel just fine," he answered easily, letting both his broad hands claim the small of his back and watching as her dark brows furrowed.

"But you're warm-" She stopped mid-sentence, her lips parted on an 'o' of surprise, and hesitantly lifted her gaze to his eyes. The smugness twinkling within those cerulean orbs caused a crimson stain to spread across her cheeks. "Oh."

The corner of his mouth hooked upwards and he leaned in again, brushing his lips sweetly against hers. She pulled him closer, giving him all he wanted and then more, and didn't even notice that Lila Morgan was shuffling past them.

When they pulled apart, Jason was startled to feel the old woman's hand on his shoulder. He looked up in time to see her shoot him a cheeky wink over her shoulder. "And that, my dear, is a greeting – well done."

This time, it was his turn to blush.

* * *

"Smile, Buttercup." Hayden Barrett was all smiles as his little girl took young Michael Corinthos' hands and leaned into him. Sonny was a good boy, and he had been friends with his mother Adella since they were in grammar school. Next to him, his wife smiled weakly. Her headaches were getting worse, but there was no way she would have allowed herself to miss this. "That's just lovely."

Jason fidgeted, holding his tuxedo jacket in his hand and wanting to avoid donning it until the last possible moment. Elizabeth stood nearby, chatting with Emily, and as much as Jason wanted to just stand there and ogle her, he knew that wasn't a safe thing to do considering her father had been watching him like a hawk for the past twenty minutes.

"Jeff, Caroline," Monica called, ushering the doctors over. "We can get some really great shots of the kids in front of the gazebo. What do you think?"

"I think that would look great," Caroline agreed, turning her camera on. "Kids?"

Elizabeth smiled and began to walk over before noticing that Jason wasn't accompanying her. Smirking, she backed up and looped her arm through his, dragging him over to the gazebo as if he were a two-year old.

"You remember to smile now, Morgan," she muttered under her breath, trying to contain a smile. "And if you're a good boy, I'll give you a toy. You want a toy, don't you?"

He mumbled something dirty under his breath but allowed her to arrange him in a pose beside her, and to his credit even managed to smile when the multiple flashes went off. His parents urged him to put on his jacket but seeing his reluctance, Elizabeth waved it off, saying that it was hot outside anyway and if Jason didn't want to put it on just yet, it was no big deal. Pleased and a little surprised, Jason cast his jacket a glare where it lay slung over the deck railing and obliged Elizabeth by posing with her some more.

And then it was time for the corsage and boutonnière. Their parents laughed and smiled together as Elizabeth's nimble digits made quick work of pinning the flower securely to Jason's lapel – for he had succumbed to the guilt and donned his jacket after all – and smoothed the material once over before adjusting it. And they got a nice shot of Jason reciprocating, and several snapshots after that.

As soon as Brenda announced that the limo would be there in five minutes and that it was time to head on out, Jeff Webber sprang into action. Waiting until Elizabeth had been swept away by her eager and excited girlfriends, the doctor quickly draped an arm heavily over the boy's shoulder and dragged him to the side, safely out of reach of either Monica or Alan.

"Now, Jason," he began in a voice a few notes deeper than his usually was. "I know you kids are about to leave, but there are a few things we need to discuss."

The boy shrugged. "Okay. Elizabeth and I aren't going in the limo anyway, so-"

"Like I said, there are a few things we need to discuss," Jeff interrupted sternly, knowing he only had a few minutes before his wife caught on to what he was up to and made him stop, crazy woman that she was. And it was in these crucial few minutes that he intended to scare the pants off his little girl's boyfriend.

The thought made him grimace – no, on second thought, the pants should _definitely _stay on.

"Now, I know you kids want to have fun tonight and I'm not against that," he started again after the abrupt pause stemming from a most uncomfortable visual image. "I just think we need to be clear on our definitions of fun."

Jason pursed his lips and did his best to control the urge not to roll his eyes. Sometimes, Dr. Webber gave him a real headache with his constant paranoia.

"You kids are to go to the dance and do your thing," the older man continued. "Afterwards, you are going to the Barrett household for a _supervised _sleepover, am I correct?"

Jason shrugged. "Yeah, we're all crashing there for the night before we head out in the morning."

"I'll get to that," Jeff frowned. "But first, I want to make sure you understand something. Due to the collective looks on the boys' faces, I am judging that tonight's Prom theme is not 'A Night On The Town' as my daughter would have me believe, but instead 'I Am Going to Take Advantage of Your Daughter'."

Jason's eyes widened at the explicit statement coming from the buttoned-down doctor before him. "Sir-"

"Let's get this straight, Morgan," the man growled, inching closer and narrowing his eyes. "I like you. Fine, I admit that. But not that much. And certainly not enough to let you take my daughter off to this…this _dance _without giving you a few rules."

Jason had to back up a step as the doctor advanced on him, and he began casting glances around the yard for Elizabeth's mother. She was the nice one.

"You are to take her to the dance. And then you are to take her immediately to the secure, supervised location of the Barrett residence. There is to be no monkey business overnight, Jason." The boy had to try with all his might not to smirk at the fact that his girlfriend's father had just used the words 'monkey-business' to allude to sex. "You've taken health in freshman year, haven't you, Jason?"

"Uh, yes, Sir."

"Good. Then you know that sex-" It hurt him physically to have to say that word in reference to his little girl "-without a protective barrier kills, Jason." His eyes narrowed at the boy stared up at him. "You see, _I_ am the protective barrier and I _will _kill you."

Jason knew it was wrong – he knew it was stupid – but he couldn't help himself. He grinned. And let out a little chuckle. "Mr. Webber, I'm not going to touch your daughter."

Jeffrey narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the smirking boy. On one hand, he didn't like the honesty gleaming in the youth's blue eyes – it made him feel paranoid. And old. But on the other hand, he found his respect for the young man growing.

His wife had just spotted him leering over their daughter's date and instantly came stalking over. "Jeffrey Webber, what on earth do you think you're doing?" she hissed, grabbing his elbow and looking apologetically at Jason. "Jason, honey, I-"

"It's fine, Mrs. Webber," Jason shrugged. "Mr. Webber was just telling us to be careful when we head down to New York tomorrow."

Caroline eyed him suspiciously. "Oh. Okay. If you say so." Jason nodded and she felt a little more at ease. "All right, dear, you'd better get going. Have a great time."

"We will," Jason smiled, not trusting himself to look at Mr. Webber. He turned on his heel and walked into the house coming upon Johnny and Leah engaging in a tap-dancing contest in the foyer. Sonny and Brenda were bickering by the door and his father was taking pictures of Luke's blue suede shoes. Shaking his head, Jason went off in search of his own date, wondering just how in the world he had allowed himself to get involved with such a bunch of nuts.

* * *

"Aw, the background is so cute," Brenda cooed as they waited to get their pictures done. "It looks just like Times Square."

Jason wasn't about to admit out loud that he thought it was tacky.

"I don't know," Elizabeth shrugged. "I think it looks kinda tacky."

He had to bite back a laugh when Brenda snapped around and glared at her. "I just don't even know you anymore."

Elizabeth snickered and quieted down as they waited. Next to her, Jason fidgeted and then leaned closer. "Why are we taking pictures here if we already took pictures at home?"

"Because those were pictures at home, and these are pictures _here_," she replied as if it made all the sense in the world.

"_We_ still look the same," he mumbled under his breath, smirking when she giggled and elbowed him in the stomach. In front of them, Brenda turned around and shot daggers at them for daring to desecrate the sanctity of this night.

"It's for the effect," Brenda sniffed haughtily. "Those pictures at home were done with normal digital cameras – these are done by a photographer. It's all for the effect."

"And we all still look the same in the both," Jason repeated, his eyes darting sideways to Elizabeth when she laughed.

Brenda looked as if she were about to scream and Sonny was begging them silently with his eyes to quit making trouble, and Elizabeth finally managed to compose herself. She looped her arm through Jason's and smiled up at him before looking at her best friend. "Fine, fine, Brennie – we'll behave."

No sooner had the brunette turned her back than Jason and Elizabeth were once again snickering under their breaths.

* * *

"I had no idea you could dance this well," Elizabeth mused as Jason wrapped his arm around her waist.

"What do you mean?" he frowned. "I danced with you back at the Four Leaf in Clover, remember?"

"Yeah, but you were so nervous then," she laughed.

"I wasn't nervous."

"Liar."

"Elizabeth, I'm _never _nervous."

_"Liar."_

He rolled his eyes and moved them in a circle, careful to avoid the other couples on the floor. "Fine. I might have been a _little _nervous."

"Jason, you didn't talk to me all through dinner," she reminded him. "You were _very _nervous." A smirk claimed her lips as she leaned into him. "Of little ol' me."

He let out a raspy chuckle. "I can't help it – you're a scary little person."

That got her attention. And her displeasure. "What do you mean? I'm not scary."

"Not at all," he agreed in a voice so patronizing she wanted to gag. "You're an angel."

"I'm nobody's angel," she huffed, resting her cheek against his chest.

"And you're not happy either way," he chuckled. "You get mad when I call you scary and then you get mad when I tell you you're an angel. How about somewhere in between?"

"That's better," she agreed, closing her eyes and following his strong lead. It was really warm at Pennington Manor – as well it should be, since several hundred young people were crammed into it. But the old house was just gorgeous, a remnant from the colonial era that had been painstakingly maintained and beautifully restored. The dance floor was in the largest room upon entry. Beyond that stood a large stairwell that ascended onto the second floor which had been turned into a museum of sorts. The grounds were well-kept and the garden was lovely – and Elizabeth couldn't imagine a more beautiful location for the dance.

So far, the evening had been wonderful. They had arrived in Jason's jeep and had gotten their pictures taken both as a couple and with Sonny and Brenda immediately thereafter. They had mingled around for a while, and Jason actually seemed to relax a little after conversing with a few people who still managed to retain their grip on their sanity, thus convincing him that all was not lost throughout this traumatizing ordeal.

And then they had started dancing. He was better than she remembered – probably because they hadn't danced like this in a long time. He was quick on his feet and very graceful – not that he ever wanted to be told that last part.

She smiled against the material of his jacket and relaxed in his arms. Jason always made her feel so safe and…cared for. He made her feel as if there was nothing those two strong arms wrapped around her couldn't protect her from, all starting with the time he'd scooped her up off the floor when she fell in front of the lockers and going strong right up until now. Regardless of the situation, she always felt so safe with him.

His hand was stroking her back, his thumb moving in large circular sweeps, and Elizabeth could feel a slight warmth spread through her body at his touch. Oh, yeah – and she usually felt like _that _when he was around, too.

The thought made her blush a little and she turned her face into his neck. Ever since the whole Prom-planning mess had started, she had pushed some of her worries to the back of her mind. But now, hearing nothing but the soft music and feeling nothing but Jason's hand low on her back, those worries came screaming back.

She wasn't a fool – she knew what every boy Jason's age was interested in. She just considered herself fortunate that he never pressured her about anything, especially given his liberal behavior toward that _situation _in the past. He never made her feel awkward and uncomfortable, he never made her feel like she was disappointing him by not doing something.

And although part of her knew that tonight wouldn't be any different from any other night as far as they were concerned, another part of her – albeit, a tiny part – was still a little troubled.

Not about him putting a move on her – she knew him too well to even think that.

But what she was troubled about was Jason's own reluctance to talk about the situation. He never so much as mentioned the word 'sex' in her presence, and he'd always change the subject when they were hanging out with his friends and the conversation got a little raunchy. It was like he was trying to protect her from that, and although she appreciated his consideration she also found it a little…silly. Just a little.

It wasn't something to ignore. Hell, she had a feeling it wouldn't be too long until she couldn't keep quiet about it herself. She was in love with him – she had realized that long ago. And he reciprocated. And although she found it tacky and in bad taste to go for it for the first time on Prom night, she didn't see anything wrong with wanting to take it to the next level.

Her hand stroked the soft golden hair at his nape as he rested his chin on her hair. She had always thought of sex as somewhat taboo – something that those girls did. Good girls were too busy with their schoolwork and friends and family to think about things like that. Good girls just didn't let themselves get into those sort of things.

That was all bullshit.

It had nothing to do with good or bad, prudent or promiscuous – at least not in the way that she herself was thinking about it. It just had to do with love, and wanting to be close to a person on a physical level. It wasn't divided among certain types of people as she had once foolishly believed. There were no 'good girls' and 'loose girls' in the sense of an honest, fulfilling physical relationship. Hell, if that was true, Brenda would have been listed in the 'loose girl' column a while ago – she and Sonny had started sleeping together about a month or two after they first started dating.

The number was slowing down and yet Jason still guided her easily, stepping in perfect time to the rhythm. She enjoyed the simple swaying motion and the feeling of being held in his arms, all the while knowing that it wouldn't be too long before she was ready to go further.

The music faded to a stop and yet she still stood in his arms, not wanting to step away just yet. Her fingers fiddled with the flower in his lapel and he had to strain to hear her low voice.

"You _do _dance really well."

* * *

"So why do the girls put on the guys' ties?" Jason wanted to know as he finished the last of his dinner and made quick work of undoing the noose around his neck. "Not that I'm complaining – you can have it."

Elizabeth laughed as he placed the tie around her neck, tightening it just a little. "Who knows? It's just a tradition."

Sonny was helping Brenda put on his bowtie, claiming that he could do it better "now that the damn thing's in front of me." Their table was one of the largest ones there – they were fortunate that the seniors this year had been able to pick their own seating arrangements despite the fact that some tables numbered up to thirty kids.

Dessert came out next and before long, most of the kids were dancing again. Brenda sat in Sonny's lap and they were talking softly, intimately, as their friends laughed and danced around them. Elizabeth persuaded Jason to dance with her once more to a faster number, and was very pleased when her hair didn't come undone from the intricate pile of curls that Brenda had constructed with a legion of hairpins.

After the number, Felicia and a bunch of girls dragged her off to the dance floor again and Jason returned to the table, sitting down next to Sonny. Brenda had ditched him for the all-girl dance, too, it seemed, and the two best friends just sat together and relaxed as their classmates laughed and talked and milled around them.

"Having fun?" Sonny's coal black eyes were amused as he glanced at his friend.

Jason shrugged. "Well, it's not as bad as I thought it would be."

"You still want to cut out of here, don't you?"

"I'm not gonna lie – I'll probably end up making a break for it as soon as Cyndi Lauper's done torturing a cat."

Sonny grimaced as _Girls Just Wanna Have Fun_ played over the speakers. "Yeah, I think you should consider it – especially since I hear they're playing Celine Dion for the last dance."

Jason groaned. "It's times like this that I really feel sorry for you."

"I know." Being the Senior Class President, Sonny had no choice but to stick around throughout the entire dance. He would have felt compelled by the organizers to go to the Post-Prom, but he had been able to escape with the standard, "What can I do? –My girlfriend's a Nazi" routine. Bless Brenda.

"You think Elizabeth will want to go?" he asked, stretching back in his chair.

Jason shrugged. "I don't know. But…if she wants to stick around, I will."

Sonny's dimples emerged. "You're a stand-up guy, Jason." His best friend tipped his head once. "And also quite whipped. Welcome to the club."

Jason glared at him and was about to make a stinging retort before he stopped abruptly and shrugged. "Yeah, well – I should have seen that coming, huh?"

* * *

He was on the balcony staring out at the stars when she approached from behind. The gentle night breeze ruffled through the fabric of her dress and Elizabeth slipped up to him as quietly as possible before wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her cheek against his strong back.

"Hey, you."

"Hey, yourself," he smiled, trying to twist around so that he could see her. She loosened her hold on him and let him pull her into his arms.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking at the stars."

"And the moon?" she asked, remembering for some reason their first kiss in Clover and how she had babbled on about the moon at that time.

He seemed to know exactly what she was remembering. "_There is something haunting in the light of the moon; it has all the dispassionateness of a disembodied soul, and something of its inconceivable mystery_."

She smiled softly and leaned back against him, pleased that he remembered the exact line she had used. "Joseph Conrad."

They stood in silence, gazing up at the stars and the moon, and Jason's thumb again began to make sweeping circular motions low over her belly. Elizabeth shifted, once again feeling those familiar sensations his touch elicited.

"Jason?"

His eyes were closed. "Hm?"

"You know what?"

"What?"

"You know when the stars and moon seem really close?"

"When?"

"Right after a bike ride."

That got his attention. Jason's eyes flew open and met hers, and Elizabeth gently cupped his chin with her hand as she glanced at the stars once more. "You wanna get out of here?"

"And go nowhere?"

"Fast."

* * *

"Okay, I think my parents are over at your place for dinner tonight," Jason spoke up as he eased into his driveway and killed the engine. They had left the manor and driven straight home to get his motorcycle, and now all that was left was for Elizabeth to change. She hadn't had a chance to stop over at Brenda's house earlier and so she had stashed her change of clothes in his car and planned to change into them now. He waited for her to move, but she just turned her face to him and smirked wickedly.

"You know, there's still one little thing…" she murmured in a sultry voice, quirking one dark brow at him.

Jason blinked at her. "What?"

"A little matter of…my garter."

He remembered back to that conversation with Luke's and as soon as he remembered just _where _her garter was, his eyes widened. "Oh. Okay!"

"You wanna take it off?" She lifted one leg and her dress parted easily over it, revealing a creamy thigh as she rested her shoe on the dashboard. "Or should I?"

"I think you'd better let me do that," he growled as soon as his eyes fell on the scrap of satin that fit snugly around her thigh. It was black with cute little white bows and Jason could only stare at it for a moment.

And then he reached out his hand to her, cradling her ankle with one and using the other to tease the wicked little accessory. His rough fingertips rasped over her smooth skin and Elizabeth bit back a gasp. Jason noticed her reaction and slowly edged the satin down further, this time letting his palm smooth against her silky skin.

She bit her lip, thinking that maybe this hadn't been such a good idea due to the wave of sensations now racing through her body. Jason seemed to sense her unease and hooked one finger under the elastic, running it down the length of her thigh, playing with it a little at her knee, and then skimming it down her shapely calf and pulling it away. Leaning back, he twirled it around his finger.

"Now, what exactly am I supposed to do with this?"

A smirk claimed her lips as Elizabeth quickly regained her composure. "I don't know. Whatever."

Jason shrugged and put it in his pocket, patting it once securely. "You wanna change inside or-"

"It's okay – I'll do it in the back," she replied, reaching for the door handle. "Then we can just get on the bike and go."

He watched her step out into the night and then pull the back door open. She quickly found her clothes and laid the seat before taking off her shoes. She got out her worn blue jeans and quickly shimmied them on under the dress, grunting a little as she found herself in tight quarters. Jason pushed his own seat up along with the passenger-side to afford her a little more room.

Next came her shirt. Elizabeth stared down at the bra she had brought along – couldn't wear one under the dress, that was for sure – and then nervously glanced toward the front where Jason was making an effort to preoccupy himself with a map. Shrugging away her discomfort, Elizabeth turned around so that her back was to him and dropped the dress, pushing it down over her hips and slinging it over the back of the seat.

And as much as Jason tried to keep his eyes glued to the damn map – which he was holding upside down by mistake – he just couldn't help himself. Her back was smooth and creamy, the delicate curve of her spine leaving a ghost of a trail on the pale alabaster. His eyes lingered on her delicate shoulders and then her back, finally dropping down to her waist. And that was when he cursed himself and set to work righting the map.

Elizabeth pulled on her bra and grabbed her t-shirt. Done, she pulled her black stilettos on and folded the dress neatly. Her jewelry came off and she grabbed her leather jacket before getting out.

"Done!" she called, and Jason soon followed. He yanked off his tuxedo jacket and undid a couple buttons on his shirt before grabbing his own jacket and putting it on. Taking her hand, he grabbed his keys and led them over to his bike.

He had taken her on it for the first time when they got back from Clover. She had loved it instantly and told him that she finally understood what he said about the wind – she saw it, too.

"Ready?" He handed her the helmet which she pulled on over her curls. Elizabeth flashed him a brilliant smile and looped her arms around his waist.

"Let's go!"

* * *

They finally found what Jason had been looking for. He had seen a road cutting through a thick, dense forest on their way to Pennington Manor and had been curious about it. As soon as he started the bike up in his driveway, he knew where he wanted to take her. He wanted to follow that little road to wherever it went.

Elizabeth had screamed and laughed the whole way, her hold on his waist tight. Jason had sped shamelessly, not very concerned at the prospect of being pulled over although he should have been. They had found that secluded road and pulled onto it. It had wound through the dark forest and Jason had slowed down so they could enjoy it. And then the forest had ended abruptly, giving way to meadows on both sides. Still, they rode on.

And finally, they had reached their destination.

"Wow," Elizabeth murmured as she took off her helmet. "Would you look at that?"

Jason gave her his hand and helped her off. "Amazing, isn't it?"

They were standing in front of a dilapidated old colonial mansion, much like the Pennington Manor. Unlike that one, however, this manor was decaying. The grounds had been conquered by tall grasses and what must have once been a beautiful garden was overgrown with trees and vines.

"It's like a palace," Jason muttered under his breath, taking her hand and leading her carefully up to it.

"More like a ruin," she corrected, parting the tall grasses. "But it's so pretty."

They stood there for a long time, right in front of the stairs that led into the old house. The full moon shone down on them, falling in between the broken rafters and gaping holes directly onto the floor of the old house. Something in the periphery caught Jason's eye and he tugged her hand.

"Come on – over here."

She followed him around to the side of the house where they found an incredible garden. Wildflowers grew in abundance and weeping willows whispered in the night breeze. Jason led her over to a statue that stood at the center of the garden and squinted up at it.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked. "Do you think it's a tombstone?"

Jason hesitantly rubbed at the base of the statue, trying to read the lettering underneath. "Maybe." He cleared away the grime and squinted down. "And maybe not. It says here that this was a gift to the owners on…what's that?...mm… Apparently the birth of their daughter."

A smile bloomed on Elizabeth's face. "Hey, that's sweet."

Jason tilted his head to the side. "You know, it kind of is." The moonlight made his eyes glow as he glanced down at her. "You wanna explore some more?"

Her face lit up. "Can we? Let's do that!"

He grabbed her hand, twining their fingers together, and led her around to the back. He paused in mid-step when he felt her fingers tighten around his, and then he was being pulled back into her arms.

"Eliz-"

Her lips met his and the sweet kiss nearly stole his breath away. When she pulled back, her eyes were sparkling and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Jason settled his hands on her hips and stared down at her as she whispered her lips over his once more.

"Thank you for a wonderful night, Jason Morgan."


	28. Puttin' On The Ritz

**Puttin' On The Ritz**

_This takes place on the Sunday and Monday after Prom._

It was late by the time Jason and Elizabeth made it back to Brenda's house. And as soon as they stepped in through the doors, they were instantly bombarded with questions from their grinning friends about where they were, who they were with, _what they were doing…_

To his credit, Jason didn't get nasty. He just let the lethal glare loose, not that it did much good. But soon, their friends' thoughts turned to other things and the heat was off. Mr. and Mrs. Barrett had already retired to their bedroom upstairs and the high schoolers had free rein of the main level of the house.

Brenda and Sonny had been bringing down sheets and pillows, dropping them on the couch, while everyone else raided the refrigerator for a late-night snack. When it was just the four of them in the room, the couple turned to their best friends.

"So, I gotta ask," Brenda began with a mischievous smirk, "just where _were_ you guys?"

Elizabeth laughed, flopping down on the couch next to Jason. "Well, Jason found this really cool old house _way_ down the Cliff Road and we just kinda walked around and explored it. It has these gorgeous hanging gardens and-"

"An old _house_?" Brenda's nose crinkled and the brunette shook her head sadly. "You two are such a boring _old_ couple. Jesus – a house!"

"Hey, it was nice," Elizabeth admonished defensively. "There was this really pretty statue out back, too. It was fun."

Sonny shrugged and eased himself down on the couch, putting his bare feet on the ottoman and slinging his arm over the armrest. "Well, that's good. How far away was it?"

Jason pursed his lips, thinking. "About ten or twelve miles from the Manor."

The Cuban's eyebrows shot up. "You made good time, then."

"The roads were empty."

"I hope we're as lucky when we head into the city tomorrow," Elizabeth sighed, curling up into Jason's side and feeling a hazy, comfortable warmth flood through her body when his large hand found her hip. "How much you wanna bet that traffic's going to be a bear?"

"Ooh, speaking of tomorrow," Brenda interrupted, making her way over to the couch and squeezing in between her boyfriend and Jason and draping her arms around their shoulders. Jason gave her a disgusted look but the brunette was far from caring. "I wanted to talk to you boys."

"Does that mean you have to touch us, too?" Jason asked, squirming under her suddenly vice-like grip on his shoulder while Elizabeth laughed.

Brenda just ignored him and plastered a sugar-sweet smile on her face. "Okay, I realize that what with Prom and everything lately, I've been a bit…enthusiastic."

Jason snorted and Elizabeth tickled his side, trying to suppress her own grin. Brenda slid him a warning glare before continuing. "In fact, I have it on good authority that someone who shall not be named-" she squeezed Jason's shoulder hard, "-referred to me as 'Promzilla on acid'."

Her three friends chuckled and the brunette daintily crossed her legs, pulling both boys closer into her and smirking when Jason groaned. "So, because you two have been _so sweet_-" she placed a smacking kiss on Sonny's temple and then Jason's, much to the boy's displeasure, "-you can decide what we do tomorrow. Anything you want – I mean it. I won't say anything. It's totally up to you."

"Aw, that's really generous of you, Bren," Elizabeth laughed as Jason finally managed to extricate himself from the pestiferous brunette's grasp. "Guys? Isn't that nice?"

"It's nice that she's not touching me anymore," Jason muttered, pulling his girlfriend onto his lap and then depositing her safely between him and Brenda.

"_Very _nice," Sonny laughed, kissing Brenda's silky black hair. "So, Jason, what do you say? Pizza joints and arcades?"

"Sounds good to me."

The brunette's lips turned downward in a sour grin. "Damn it. I _knew_ I was going to regret this."

* * *

"Boy, these kids sure can eat, can't they?" Hayden Barrett watched in amazement as Luke Spencer guzzled down the last of the orange juice and tossed the carton over his shoulder into the garbage can. Behind him, his girlfriend Laura grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and passed it to Johnny and the rest of the gang. Breakfast was almost over – the kids had been in the kitchen for the past hour, trying to make omelets and pancakes and bacon, and it had been complete chaos. So chaotic, in fact, that Hayden had made a quick trip to Kelly's to grab some other necessities like the apple turnovers his daughter's boyfriend had just devoured.

"Do you need any more money, sweetheart?" his wife was asking Brenda, fishing through her wallet. "I can give you more."

"It's okay," Brenda shrugged, pulling her silky black hair into a loose ponytail and fiddling with the string on her pink pajama pants. "I have Daddy's credit card."

"Oh, that's right," her mother nodded. "Well, is everyone else set?"

Laura, a tall blonde from a neighboring high school, glanced at her boyfriend. "Luke, please tell me you packed already."

The trumpet player paused with half a muffin crammed into his mouth, and then quickly headed toward the stairs. "I'm on it, darlin'."

Sonny was going through a quick checklist – the boy was always prepared for every occasion – and Johnny was sprawled out on the kitchen counter, fully intent on catching some sleep before they hit the road.

"Where's Beth?" Hayden wondered aloud, looking about the kitchen. "And Jason, for that matter – that's the boy's name, isn't it, dear?"

Brenda nodded. "Yeah, it is. And I haven't seen them, Daddy. Yo! Does anyone know where Beth and Jason are?"

Luke entered the kitchen that minute with his face contorted in disgust. "Yeah – they're totally hard-core making-out on the couch."

"What!" That certainly got Johnny's attention and the boy sat up suddenly on the counter, almost banging his head on the low-hanging decorative lights. "Seriously?"

The boy made a gagging motion. "Yeah. It's disgusting. They're all over each other."

Sonny spun around so his girlfriend's parents wouldn't see the wicked grin on his face as he clicked away on his Palm Pilot. Brenda, however, lacked that sort of discretion and burst out laughing in front of her stunned parents.

"Jesus," Luke continued despite himself, "it's like they're trying to crawl into each other's mouths. I feel like I oughta be socking it to that creep for going all hormonal on sweet little Bethie, but…what can ya do? He's her fella."

He shrugged and swung his duffel bag onto one of the seats as his friends continued to laugh. Brenda's parents, suddenly feeling very out of place, excused themselves and left the kitchen to tend to other things.

A few minutes passed and Elizabeth came sauntering into the kitchen in her pajamas. She wore blue cotton bottoms with a baby tee of the same color, and the first thing her friends noticed about her was that her hair – so carefully curled and arranged the night before – was now a wild riot of mussed curls springing out in every which direction. And Jason followed not two steps behind her, his lips swollen and a small, pleased smile on his face.

There was no way in hell that Johnny O'Brien was going to let such a golden opportunity pass him by.

"Whoot! Morgan's a man!"

Brenda sprayed out a mouthful of apple juice onto the kitchen counter, and Carly choked on her bagel. Elizabeth and Jason both gaped at the grinning Irish boy, and the brunette blushed a most vivid red which only incited more teasing and playful ribbing.

"Woah, Jase!" Carol laughed, tossing her friend a wink. "You _animal_!"

Luke and Taggert had cornered a very embarrassed Elizabeth and were inspecting her hair as the girl laughed despite herself. "Nice work, Morgan," Taggert offered, cocking his head and looking at her wild curls. "Mussed and tousled, not a hairpin in sight. A good, clean job if I've ever seen one."

"Oh, knock it off, Taggert," Jason glowered, stalking forward and pushing the boy out of his and Elizabeth's way as he reached for Carol's half-finished glass of orange juice.

A flushed Elizabeth, desperately trying to suppress her giggles even as her friends teased her, tried to smooth her mussed locks down but soon quit and gave in to the ribbing.

"Must have been a good morning, indeed." Jason turned around at Sonny's smug voice and shot his best friend daggers with his eyes. Unfazed, the Cuban only grinned, showcasing his irresistible dimples. "Looks like some of us had a better time than others."

Jason's eyes narrowed as he set down the now empty glass and turned on him. "You know what, Corinthos-"

Chuckling, Elizabeth reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him back as Dara and Sydney made _awww_-ing noises in the background. "It's okay, Jason – they don't get to me."

"No, that's Morgan's job," Johnny chuckled, seeing the defiant glint in the brunette's eyes and then fell off the counter trying to avoid the sneaker Jason launched at his head.

"Next one who says anything gets it," Jason warned, sliding Brenda an icy but amused look. "Go ahead, Brenda, make my day."

Sonny laughed and stepped forward, ready to get on to more important things. "Okay, okay, I'm sure we can all congratulate Jason on his journey through the threshold of manhood later, but right now, we've got to get a few things settled."

Before long, they had managed to decide who was going with who and where all the luggage was going. Jason volunteered his jeep, and the seating arrangements worked out to most everyone's satisfaction. In the end, Brenda, Sonny, Elizabeth, and a ton of luggage were coming with Jason in his black Jeep, and everyone was ready to get the cars packed and get on the road.

Jason hopped toward the door with Elizabeth at his side, trying to step back into the sneaker he had thrown at Johnny's head when the Irish boy stole up next to him and clapped him excruciatingly hard on the back.

"Morgan's a man!" was the only thing he heard as the dark-haired boy launched himself through the door and safely out of Jason's reach as all their friends laughed.

* * *

"Put on Simon and Garfunkel!"

"No – Hendrix!"

"Forget that; how about…ooh! Blue Oyster Cult! Blue Oyster Cult!"

"Everyone shut up – I'm driving and I say we listen to Queen." Glaring at a pouting Brenda in the rearview mirror, Jason grabbed _A Night at the Opera_ album from his visor and slid it into the player. "You say one word, Barrett, and I swear I'm going to-"

"You are _no_ fun at all," the brunette huffed, kicking the back of his seat with her bare foot. "I don't know what Beth sees in you."

"Well, he _is_ nice to look at," Elizabeth tossed in, looking out the window to avoid Jason's glare. "Other than that…I don't know. I chalk it up to a rare fit of insanity."

"Owned," Brenda chirped, smacking the back of Jason's headrest once more for good measure.

"Don't make me come back there, you little midget – I swear, I'll drive into oncoming traffic if it means shutting you up."

Brenda hunkered down in her seat with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest. "I should have gone with Luke. At least he likes me."

"That's because he's insane and partly deaf," Jason supplied helpfully as he merged onto the highway.

Elizabeth slid him a grin, shaking her head as she linked her fingers with his on his strong thigh. "Jason, stop being mean to Bren. She doesn't mean any harm."

"That's why she's been going ape on me since we met, right?" Jason smirked in reply. "She's crazy, Elizabeth – face it, you have a crazy friend. She should be given a white jacket and locked up someplace with padded walls."

"She's just…excitable, Jason," Elizabeth responded, stroking his warm thigh softly through the denim of his jeans. "Peppy."

"Crazy," her boyfriend translated. "That's all there is to it." His eyes darted to the rearview and the boy frowned instantly when he saw what was going on in the backseat. "Hey! You two stop that! God, my eyes! I swear, I _will_ drive into the oncoming lane! Good Lord!"

Elizabeth was laughing hysterically by the time Brenda lifted herself up off of her boyfriend and landed a good kick square in the center of Jason's seat. Her boyfriend was grimacing with disgust at what he had just witnessed and was staring straight out at the road, muttering all the while that Dante had it easy when he ventured down into the bowels of Hell.

* * *

Brenda and Elizabeth hopped out of Jason's Jeep as soon as the boy pulled into the hotel parking lot where everyone else was waiting. They left the luggage in the cars and wandered over to the main desk first to get their rooms in order. The arrangements worked out well – a few of the couples stayed in the same room and a few of the couples split into groups of the same gender and since everyone but the juniors was above eighteen, the staff didn't have much of a problem with them.

And then it was time to get the luggage. Sonny and Jason coaxed the rest of the boys into being gentlemen and retrieving the ladies' luggage as well, and they all trooped out to his Jeep and Sydney's minivan where all the bags and accessories were stowed. Forming a vast and disorganized assembly line, they somehow managed to get all the duffel bags into the appropriate rooms, right after Johnny put on a vaudeville-esque show in the hallway complete with obscene gestures and undergarments after being handed a girl's bag by mistake.

Everyone got settled in and unpacked a bit before deciding to head out for lunch. Elizabeth and Brenda hastily ducked out of the room they shared to find Sonny and Jason bored and waiting for them in the lobby. After a couple snide remarks about growing beards and watching glaciers pass, the whole group assembled at a nearby café that Taggert and Dara had scoped out.

Lunch was a casual affair – Brenda sat in Sonny's lap the whole time, Luke and Laura threw more food at the squirrels than they ingested, Johnny spent twenty minutes walking around on the terrace grounds with toilet paper stuck to his foot because no one had the decency to clue him in, and Jason and Elizabeth spent their time drawing out maps of their planned route on paper napkins, complete with elaborate little drawings of trees and bunnies courtesy of Elizabeth.

There was some type of concert going on in the park and that was where they headed next. Jason, not being a big fan of the music that was playing, sprawled out on the picnic blankets Sydney and Carol had brought along and promptly fell asleep with Luke's baseball cap over his face to ward off the sunshine.

Evening set in before any of the kids were ready for it, and that was when the planning for dinner began. The boys, namely Jason and Taggert, wanted to grab a pretzel from a cart. The girls, however, proved to be a little more high-maintenance – they all had their hearts set on dinner and dancing.

So they all worked out a compromise, one in which the boys naturally had no say. To her credit, Brenda sat the heated discussion out and let the other girls decide what everyone was going to do. Emily was the one that suggested going back to the hotel to change and asking the clerks for information on good restaurants nearby.

And that was what they did. Fortunately, the young female receptionist was very knowledgeable on the hot spots in the area and quickly identified the restaurant she felt they'd most enjoy. With that taken care of, the teenagers ducked into their rooms to change.

They were ready in no time and soon arrived at the restaurant. Dinner was much fancier than lunch – Jason, Sonny and Johnny all agreed that it was reminiscent of the dinner they had enjoyed in New York earlier that year after the track conferences. Brenda had elbowed Elizabeth discreetly during that conversation and the brunette had blushed furiously at the memories of that night that seemed to have been ages ago.

Jason suffered through the dinner as best as he could, wriggling and squirming in his fancy dress shirt and slacks, even the shiny shoes that creaked when he walked. But the food had been good and he and Elizabeth sat cuddled close together on the comfortable chairs, so it wasn't all that bad. And he had to admit that it felt nice to kick back and spend an evening with all of his friends far removed from Port Charles. At any rate, he felt like things had been so crazy for such a long time that he hadn't really had much time for them, and as much as it surprised him, Jason realized that he had missed some of his friends. And he knew he'd miss them more when everyone split for college in the fall.

They spent an unknown amount of time walking around downtown after dinner – Brenda claimed she ate an entire cow and needed to walk it off, then proceeded to hen-peck Sonny for letting her eat so much. And after that, she and Elizabeth had made a beeline to an ice cream store that was still open due to some grace of God, and Sonny had been severely warned against making any comment about hypocrisy.

Finally, they headed back to the hotel and their respective rooms. Sonny and Jason disappeared into the one they shared after kissing their girlfriends goodnight, and Elizabeth and Brenda retired to theirs.

The taller brunette was slipping out of her red dress and into her tanks and shorts while Elizabeth folded up her black pencil skirt and put away the camisole and cardigan combination she had worn. She flopped down on the bed and brushed her hair while Brenda changed, and finally slid a hesitant glance at her best friend.

"Hey, Brenda?"

The girl looked up instantly. "What is it, Beth?"

"Thanks for, you know, sharing a room with me." She fiddled with the sheets as Brenda grinned slyly and slid into her own bed. "I don't know if Jason and I…"

"It's no sweat," she replied honestly, settling down against her pillow. "I don't mind."

"Well, I know you and Sonny wanted-"

"It's fine, Beth," Brenda insisted honestly. "It really is. Sonny doesn't mind and neither do I. If you and Jason didn't really want to share a room, that's fine."

Elizabeth was biting her lip in the dark. "Does it…I don't know…seem weird to you that we're not? I mean, we've been going out for months and I know that I'm being-"

With a huff, Brenda sat up in bed and switched on the light between their beds. "Beth, you listen to me. There's nothing wrong with you or Jason – wow, I can't believe I just said that – and there's nothing wrong with not having had sex yet. You'll know when it's time and seriously? It's not that big a deal. Don't beat yourself up over it."

Her best friend smirked gratefully. "Yeah, you're right. And it's such a cliché, too – doing it on Prom night."

Brenda giggled. "Yikes, I know."

"Thanks again, Bren."

The room plunged into darkness once more as Brenda clicked the light off again. "See you tomorrow, Beth – with my luck, Jason and Sonny will want to go to the auto museum or some greasy taco joint. _Ai, ai, ai, no me gusta_."

* * *

"What time do you think we should head home today?" Carol asked as Steven Lars handed her a bagel with strawberry cream cheese spread across the top. "I don't want to get home too late."

"Technically, we could make tomorrow _another_ Senior Ditch Day," Taggert suggested. "Instead of just Monday, make it Tuesday, too."

"I don't know," Emily replied slowly. "I mean, I hate school and all, but I kinda want to enjoy our last two weeks. It's not like we do anything all day anyway."

"Yeah, we should be back for tomorrow," Sonny agreed firmly. "And I think we should leave here around 5:30. We'll be home by eight, roughly, and that'll be plenty of time to unpack and change and hit the sack before school tomorrow."

"So at five fifteen, everybody be at the lobby," Brenda ordered, wagging her finger and plucking a few grapes from Sonny's plate. "Now that we've got that taken care of, what are we doing today?"

Jason had been eyeing his watch as the group conversed, and his gaze had darted to his Jeep a couple times as well. And now that Brenda had finally asked, he knew it was time to move. "You guys can do whatever you want, but Elizabeth and I are going to cut out."

Elizabeth looked at him in surprise while her friends pouted. "You're taking her away?" Emily frowned. "What for?"

"What've you got planned for Beth, Jason?" Carol asked with a saucy grin, even going so far as to blatantly toss him a suggestive wink.

The blonde rolled his eyes and stood up, fishing around for his keys as Elizabeth eyed him curiously. "Yeah, what _do_ you have planned, Jason?"

"It's a surprise," was the only answer she got as he grabbed her hand and led her toward his Jeep, calling over his shoulder for Brenda and Sonny to bum rides with someone else for today.

* * *

"Where are we going, Jason?" she asked for the millionth time since he had started driving. Her boyfriend chuckled and squirmed when she started poking him in the side. "Come on, I want to know."

"Oh, you'll know."

"That's not an answer!"

"Elizabeth, trust me. I know where we're going."

There was a brief pause.

"Will I like it?"

"You'll love it."

Another pause.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

A few seconds ticked by.

"Yes, but how can you know for sure?"

His eyes twinkled with amusement as he turned and seized her gaze. "Because I know _you_, Elizabeth."

"Oh."

A full minute passed.

"Where are we going?"

"Elizabeth…"

"When are we going to get there?"

"When we get there."

"That's not an answer!"

He was laughing at her frustration. "Elizabeth, relax. Just trust me, okay? You do trust me, right?"

That shut her up; he knew full well that she trusted him completely and would trust him today even if the curiosity was driving her crazy. And he didn't intend to let her down – he had decided to take her to this place since they had all decided to spend the two days after prom in downtown New York. It had been too good an opportunity to pass up, and he was sure Elizabeth wouldn't have any complaints. After all, she'd be spending the next four years of her life there.

* * *

"Wow." Elizabeth's eyes were wide as she took everything in, almost as if she were seeing it for the first time. "I love this place."

Jason wrapped an arm around her tiny waist and led her in through the giant gates of Columbia University as college students milled around them, carrying books and laptops and insane amounts of coffee. "I know you do."

"I love it more and more every time I come here," she confided with a bright smile, sliding her small hand into his back pocket as they sauntered down the walkway toward the beautiful courtyard. "And I love it even more now that I'm here with you."

Jason smiled and rested his cheek against her hair as they walked. Students were sitting on the stone benches, some playing chess on the built-in boards, others reading, others sleeping. Columbia was on the trimester schedule and therefore still in session, and he could feel the frenetic energy on campus pulsating around him as students studied furiously for their finals, or like the almost comatose ones, tried to pretend that finals didn't exist.

They passed by the main building used for admissions, an impressive structure, and then wound their way over to the library which was too incredible to be left on its own. Quickly ducking inside, the two of them wound their way through rooms upon rooms of thick, leather-bound books from Cardano's _Ars Magna_ to _Harry Potter_ translated in ancient Greek. Elizabeth pointed out the charming study nooks with the handsome tables of dark wood, and the stained glass windows, and then eagerly led him to the Periodicals section which she claimed was the best part about the whole library just because of the uber-cute college boy that was always on duty. Jason didn't find her joke all that amusing.

Presently, they found themselves at the dining hall and Elizabeth claimed that the food was surprisingly good. She did, however, warn against the swordfish on the menu, and Jason didn't need her to launch into an explanation.

It was a warm day out as they strolled through the campus grounds, stopping at an outdoor kiosk and lemonade stand combination where Elizabeth bought a _New Yorker _and Jason bought two lemonades. He had just paid for the drinks and was heading over to Elizabeth when he noticed her talking to an elderly man with silvery hair and a briefcase in his hand. The man's back was toward Jason but he instantly knew that it was a professor. Edging closer, he was able to pick up the conversation and soon realized that the old man had mistaken Elizabeth for one of the girls in his seminar on Nietzsche – and what was more, his girlfriend was playing along!

He heard her comment on the philosopher, something that the professor obviously agreed with because the old windbag immediately launched into a long oratory on nihilism. Elizabeth's sapphire eyes met his for an instant and she shot him a quick smile of amazement as if to say, _look at me! I'm a bona-fide college kid!_

And so Jason leaned against a tree and watched with a smile as she nodded along to whatever her 'professor' was saying. She chattered along with ease, not at all fazed by what the old man threw her way and if she was, she spit out a non-committed statement and moved along. She looked so at ease, so entirely comfortable in the situation, that Jason almost didn't know if he should be pleased or saddened.

Going away for college was something he hadn't really wanted to think about since the beginning of senior year. It meant leaving behind his family – his grandparents whom he loved and looked to for guidance, his impressionable little brother that all out worshipped him – and it meant leaving behind his best friend, and since he met Elizabeth, his girlfriend. He had tried to brush the thoughts of leaving home away, but they had always been lurking. And now, seeing Elizabeth easily transition to a discussion on Sartre and his _Zuggandeitt_, all those thoughts came rushing back.

It wasn't something to avoid; everyone would be leaving for college and that was that. He knew that they would all have to part, that they would all have to start on their own paths. And for the first time since he had set foot on the campus of Columbia University with Elizabeth's little hand tucked away in his back pocket, Jason was almost ashamed to admit that he felt like an outsider.

This was Elizabeth's world. This would be her world in a few months. This would be her world for the next four years of her life. If the old adage – the one he despised – was true, then she'd 'find herself' here. She'd make lots of friends that she'd keep in touch with her whole life, she'd form important business connections that would come in handy in later years, she would be presented with opportunities that a young woman of her caliber deserved.

This was her world.

And he knew that in a couple months, he wouldn't be part of it.

No, he'd be one state and a couple hundred miles of cornfields away, at Boston University. He'd be doing his own thing there. And Sonny and Brenda would be doing their own thing at New York University.

He wasn't the type of man to give in to his doubts and insecurities easily. But as he watched her promise her professor that she'd be sure to get the assigned reading done, he just couldn't help it. This was a life-altering change. And it was as certain as the next sunrise. He didn't know what the future would hold for him and Elizabeth; he didn't want to think about whether or not they'd be able to make a long-distance relationship work, especially when they were both going to be so busy all the time and constantly surrounded by other young people their age. And he still didn't know if he should be happy that she would obviously adjust so well to life at Columbia or conversely be sad that she would obviously adjust so well to life at Columbia.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when her small hand wrapped around his arm. "Jason, did you see that?" she asked excitedly, hopping up and down on her toes. "Professor Ingles totally thought I was one of the kids from his Nietzsche and Camus seminar! And he asked me what I thought of the readings from last week and we talked and, oh, Jason, did you see me?"

"I saw you," he smiled back, setting the lemonade on the table. "Yeah, I saw you."

A brief pause stretched between them as Jason's eyes drifted to the old professor who was now shuffling away, convinced that he had just spoken with one of his young students who would be joining him for the scheduled class period tomorrow and not knowing that at this time the following day, that 'student' would be singing showtunes in Mr. Alcazar's tenth period Calculus class.

He barely had time to blink before Elizabeth's soft lips pressed against his own, her slender arms snaking around his neck to pull him close. And Jason let her pull him down to her height, let her hold him tightly, let her kiss him deeply. When she pulled back, their breathing was a bit uneven.

"What was that for?"

Her fingers gently combed through the golden hair at his temples as she smiled thoughtfully up at him as if she could read his mind. "You looked a little sad there."

The corner of his mouth hooked up and Jason just looked at her. She was staring back up at him through wide eyes, soft and hesitant, and something about the way she was watching him made his heart swell as his doubts and insecurities receded to the back of his mind as before. Leaning down, he brushed his lips over hers once again. "I'm not sad anymore."

* * *

"Simon and Garfunkel!"

"Hendrix! Hendrix!"

"Blue Oyster Cult!"

Jason's blue eyes met a pair of dark brown ones on the seat right behind his. "Fine, Brenda, Blue Oyster Cult."

"Hooray!" she cheered, kicking the back of his seat again.

"Damn it, woman, do you have to abuse me all the time? Don't you get your fill of doing that to Sonny?"

"Sorry," the girl smiled sheepishly. "Put the CD in."

Rolling his eyes as Elizabeth chuckled, Jason obliged and slid the disk into the player as they merged onto the highway and headed home. Her hand soon found his and their fingers twined over his strong thigh as he roared down the highway, a surprising sense of calmness enveloping him. The music was blasting but he had almost tuned it out; Sonny and Brenda were all over each other on the back seat but he didn't really care. His hand squeezed Elizabeth's and he drove straight on, following the highway that would take them all back home.

* * *

"First stop!" Sonny called out as he pushed the front door of Elizabeth's house open. Jason followed carrying Elizabeth's duffel bag and other items that she had brought along or left in his car on previous occasions, and finally Brenda and Elizabeth straggled in.

"You guys want something to drink?" Elizabeth inquired, shucking her shoes and padding down the hall barefoot. "Water, milk, juice?"

"Water," Jason replied.

"Milk," Brenda yawned.

"Juice," Sonny half-groaned as he stretched his back.

"You guys are _so_ not original," Elizabeth sighed as she entered the kitchen. "Mom? Dad! Gram! We're home!"

Not waiting for Elizabeth, the small group trudged over to the den and flopped down on the couches. It didn't take the brunette long to appear with the cold drinks and they all sipped in silence, utterly drained from the events of the past three days. It had been absolutely crazy – they had gotten maybe fifteen hours of sleep in the past sixty hours and they were all ready to drop.

"That was nice," Brenda sighed, burrowing back into the couch that she was sharing with Elizabeth. "I'm so glad we all went to prom together."

"You're not going to get all sentimental on us, are you, Barrett?" Jason yawned, throwing his legs over the armrest of the single person couch he occupied. "Because I might have to throw you out the window if you do."

"Don't listen to him," Sonny ordered weakly, settling comfortably into the soft brown recliner that had instantly caught his eye. "He's too chicken-shit to try anything."

"And what am I so chicken-shit of?" Jason wanted to know.

"Me."

"Not on your best day, Corinthos."

"Cat-fight," Brenda yawned, stretching her feet out and wrapping her arms around a pillow. "Let the fur fly, ladies."

A brief pause lingered in the den before Jason finally spoke to his best friend. "I don't see how _you_ haven't thrown her out the window already."

The Cuban shrugged. "She's a good kisser."

"Yeah, and you can _kiss_ your ass goodbye if you keep up that chauvinistic bull, Corinthos," Brenda spat, her eyes already closed.

"Knock it off, Lucy and Ricky," Elizabeth scolded, stretching her own legs out across Brenda's and occupying the pillow on the opposite side. "That's enough out of the two you."

The conversation lagged and eventually faded away into complete silence, and when Jeff and Caroline came downstairs to greet their daughter after her long journey, they were both surprised to find the den filled with sleeping children.

Jeff walked over to Jason who was sprawled out across the dark green armchair, snoring lightly, and he poked the boy lightly in the forehead before his wife grabbed him by the belt loops and pulled him away.

"Wow. They're dead to the world."

Caroline just shrugged, already leading her husband out of the room. "Poor little things. They must have tired themselves out. Remember when we were that age, Jeff?"

"Oh, don't even start," her husband warned. "It was a filthy age, that's what it was – a damn filthy age and-"

"Oh, Jeff," she laughed, kissing his cheek. "You loved it and you know it. You only get to be that age once."


	29. Memories Are Made of This

**Note: **I must declare this right off the bat to be more of a filler chapter. It's necessary, though, in the grand scheme of things. But it's more poofy than most, I would think. I'm looking to wrap this story up (thank GOD!) and begin work on the sequel, which I hope will be more true to character than LRS has been, so we can all look forward to that, I suppose. Oh, and the title? Totally a Dean Martin song. ;)

* * *

**Memories Are Made of This**

_This takes place during the week following prom and senior ditch day._

"I like you in blue," Elizabeth murmured, fingering the fabric of Jason's dress shirt as the two of them sat side by side in the crowded auditorium. It was Senior Awards Night, meaning that all the seniors who would be honored and their family members were all packed into the formal auditorium _cum_ theatre and patiently waiting for the program to begin.

Jason glanced down at his blue oxford and black trousers, grimacing in disgust. "Why?"

"Because it brings out your eyes."

"I hate getting dressed up."

"I know."

"I hate it even more than I hate Brenda."

"You don't hate Brenda."

"Damn straight, you don't hate Brenda!" came a furious hiss from behind him, and Jason barely had time to duck before the brunette's flat palm smacked him upside the head.

"Of course I don't hate Brenda," he sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he rubbed the back of his head. "She's just a little angel, isn't she?"

"Damn straight she is," his girlfriend's best friend smiled back happily before meeting Elizabeth's harsh glare and looking away guiltily.

"Where's Sonny, anyway?" the blonde wondered aloud. "Doesn't he have your muzzle?"

"Heard my name," came his best friend's smooth voice as Sonny sauntered down the aisle. Brenda, who had been sitting with a couple of her other friends in the row behind Jason and Elizabeth, got up and let Sonny lead her to their seats with their best friends. "This thing started yet?"

"Not yet," Elizabeth yawned, resting her head on Jason's broad shoulders. "They're still straightening the awards out backstage. Want a program?"

"There's one taped to my back, apparently," Sonny frowned, glancing at a smirking Johnny who sat a few seats away. "Let's see…the show starts in ten minutes. Plenty of time. What's with you, Beth?"

"She's tired," Jason supplied helpfully as Elizabeth cuddled up against him, her hand resting on his knee. "They've been working on the senior issue of the paper ever since school let out."

"Crammed in that dingy little office in the catacombs of the building," the brunette muttered, scratching her itchy nose on Jason's shoulder. "It's terrible. But hey, at least we're done."

"When does the senior issue come out?" Brenda wanted to know.

"Eh. Beginning of next week, I think."

A couple of her co-editors walked by just then, and Elizabeth perked up. Quickly motioning Jenny, Brendan, Ryan and Jeff over to the row in front of her, she lowered her voice and the five of them spoke in whispers. Another editor appeared with a big bouquet of flowers, which she promptly deposited backstage before any of the teachers present noticed, and then took her seat near her friends.

"What's that for?" Brenda asked, taping the program onto Sonny's arm once more. "What's going on?"

"Well, since all us editors are graduating this year," Elizabeth started, quickly glancing around to make sure no one else was listening, "we decided to do something special for Ms. Bedford. We got her flowers and stuff, and we're going to try to get a quick word in when she gives us our awards for the paper. She's been trying so hard not to cry for the past few weeks, and it's about time we broke the dam."

"We did something like that for Coach Preuss last night," Sonny nodded, glancing at Jason. "We just showed up at his place with pizza and watched the game. Good bonding moment."

Jason was snickering at the memory as Elizabeth leaned against him once more. Even though he hadn't been on the track team for a while, he still felt as if he should go with his teammates to pay respect to their coach, and it had been a pretty fun evening all in all. They had originally planned to toilet-paper his house, but then when they remembered he had two Dobermans, the boys changed their plans and went the safer route.

"Let's get this show on the road!" came a mock-irritate growl behind them, and the four friends looked up to see Luke Spencer sauntering down the aisle toward them. "I've got places to do, things to be."

Elizabeth smirked at her friend and talent-show-partner. "Puppies to kick, Luke?"

"And nuns to push down stairs, darlin'," he winked. "Don't forget about the nuns."

"Pull up a seat, Spencer," Brenda instructed grandly, motioning to the empty seats around them. "Taggert coming?"

"Yeah, he'll be here in a while. What are you here for?"

"I'm getting the award for the fashion club," the brunette announced proudly. "Basically because I organized the Booster fashion show this year. Tons of fun – I wish you had come."

"Betsy and I had a scholarship audition then," Luke replied, referring to his trumpet. "Otherwise, I'd never miss the opportunity to see you in a formal gown, Barrett."

"Watch it, Spencer," Sonny growled, narrowing his eyes at his old friend.

"You're just jealous because you know she likes me better," Luke huffed, crossing his leg over his knee. "And who could blame her? Or Beth for that matter – don't try to hide it, doll, I see you making eyes at me."

The girls were laughing as Sonny and Jason exchanged skeptical glances, and the auditorium began to fill up with more students and parents. Before long, their principal appeared with a few opening words and then the presentation was underway. Sitting in a cluster of her friends, all of them dressed formally, Elizabeth was amazed to discover how informal the whole evening appeared to be from the get-go. She had attended more than her own fair share of school functions and _all_ of them had been very structured and formal. But this – this was different. And she liked it.

The awards for the Fashion Club and Business Club were announced together, and everyone couldn't help but smile as Brenda Barrett and Michael Quartermaine, the respective recipients, sauntered grandly onto stage with their arms looped together to accept the award. And as the pair made their way back to their seats, the students laughed as Sonny pretended to try to trip Michael, although the adults didn't find it quite that amusing.

Awards for music were given out next, and Luke Spencer, Sydney Morse, and Lisa Kelling all trooped out onto stage together. Sydney had sprained her ankle a few days before and was in crutches, and the crowd snickered as Sonny and Jason quickly sprang up from their seats to clear the aisle of whatever awards, certificates, and sweaters had been thrown there earlier by their friends. Sydney hobbled by as they sat back down again, and the three kids accepted their awards.

The rest of the evening went by fairly quickly. Marcus Taggert and Ace Smith, Emily's boyfriend, received awards for their achievements in sports as the senior class' best physical fitness participants; Carol received recognition for the new line of school spirit wear that she had designed and marketed; and Sonny was recognized for his years of hard work at the head of the Student Union, and was given a golden gavel engraved with his name. Johnny promptly stole it from him as soon as he returned to his seat, and spent the next ten minutes using it to make obscene gestures.

Elizabeth and her fellow editors were awarded for their hard work on the school paper by their advisor, Ms. Melissa Bedford, and the tall blonde nearly burst into tears when they presented her with a wrapped gift and flowers. Mr. Alcazar came out afterwards to announce his department's picks as the top math students in the graduating class throughout all four years, and Elizabeth was shocked to hear her name mentioned in company with Sonny's and Jason's. She had a feeling that her boyfriend and Sonny would be receiving the award, but she never once figured that she was even in the running.

Mr. Alcazar was grinning as Jason and Sonny rose from their seats, and Jason had to practically pull Elizabeth from her seat. The boys flanked her side and made their way onto stage with the petite brunette tucked safely between them, and Jeff and Caroline – along with Alan, Monica, Mike, and Adella – made sure to snap plenty of pictures. The three received their awards and turned to walk off the stage, and Elizabeth looped her arms around Sonny and Jason's waist, rolling her eyes when Johnny hooted.

A few more awards were given out and the principal made his closing remarks before the audience was free to go. Elizabeth, Sonny, Brenda and Jason were standing in a small cluster of their friends as their parents walked up. Alan and Monica greeted Elizabeth right away, congratulating her on her achievements, and Adella quickly enveloped her youngest son in a hug. No one, however, was more proud than Caroline was of Jeff when her husband extended his hand to Jason and expressed his genuine congratulations.

Elizabeth and Brenda suggested going out for burgers afterwards, and for the first time since the kids started dating, all four sets of parents sat together at an outside table at Kelly's eating burgers and cheese fries at eleven thirty on a weekday night. Jeff was sipping his root beer – a first for him, but he had declared that he wanted to live dangerously tonight – and listening as Alan wound up some great, embellished tale, and Elizabeth caught Jason's gaze and smirked at him. He smiled back, quirking a single brow, before Brenda tried to steal his cheese fries and he turned around to yell at her.

When he looked back at her, Elizabeth and Sonny were coloring on the paper tablecloth with a few crayons left over from the visit of previous patrons, and were cracking up as they drew random stick-figure caricatures of themselves and their friends and parents. The adults continued to laugh and talk together, genuinely enjoying this first group excursion, and Jason sat back in his seat with a sigh, pretending not to notice when Brenda slipped another cheese fry out of his tray. He had never pegged himself the sentimental type – and certainly never an overly-gregarious type – but there was just something about this night that made him wish it would never end.

* * *

"Well? Were we good?" Elizabeth wanted to know as she twined her fingers with his and let him lead her down the hall. Dressed in a tuxedo jacket and silk blouse with a black miniskirt on underneath, the excited brunette had just finished up her act for the talent show with Johnny and Luke. "Huh, Jason? Were we good?"

"You were great," he replied honestly, swinging their hands between them. Elizabeth squeaked happily and pranced along next to him on her bare feet, her shoes swinging from her fingers. "You guys surprised us there – we thought we'd have to sit through a boring recital."

"Well, we figured we'd start out that way," she explained with a bright grin. "It was supposed to be just me on stage with the piano, playing Beethoven's fifth. And we were supposed to make you guys think that it would be a totally straight-up classical performance – that way, you'd be totally shocked when Luke and Johnny joined in on the trumpet and drums."

"It was awesome," Sonny agreed, nodding his head once. "I wasn't expecting that at all. In fact, I've never heard Beethoven performed with trumpets."

"But you've heard it with drums?" Johnny wanted to know as he popped another button on the oxford shirt he wore.

The boy nodded. "Yeah. My brother Ric had this one friend who was a drummer and he was obsessed with Beethoven, so, yeah, I've heard it done with percussions before. But what you guys did today – that was totally unique. It felt more like a jazz show than classic Beethoven."

"That's what we were going for," Johnny repeated with a smile as Luke chuckled under his breath. "But I think Beth gave the audience a little more than they were bargaining for – isn't that right, Marilyn Monroe?"

"Oh, stop it, Johnny," the brunette huffed, a slight blush stealing across her cheeks. "I had shorts on underneath."

"Crimson spandex shorts," Luke clarified with a laugh. "Very classy there, Webber."

Jason slid his friend a warning glare as the boys laughed. Elizabeth could only shake her head. "Hey, I knew I'd be playing with my toes, and since I was in a skirt, I had to wear _something_ underneath."

"And boy, did you wear _something_!"

Sonny stopped mid-laugh when he caught Jason's tense glare, and he obliged his best friend by reaching over and smacking Johnny upside the head for that remark. The boy pouted and rubbed his neck, still eyeing Elizabeth.

"And, dude, Beth, you wouldn't _believe_ how many guys came up to Jason afterward and said, 'man, your girlfriend's a fox'," he continued, ducking away when Sonny tried to swat at him again.

"What?"

"You just don't learn, do you?" Jason demanded. "Elizabeth, don't worry about it."

"Oh, gosh," she murmured, biting her lip. "Was it really that raunchy? I didn't think it would be this bad – they're the same length as those biking shorts and since we had a black, white and crimson deal going, I figured they matched and-"

"Seriously, Beth? It was fine." Luke dropped his arm on her shoulder as they rounded the corner toward the stars to get back to class. "We're just teasin' you. Yeah, your skirt totally slipped down when you started playing with your toes, but you had shorts underneath and it was all good. I think it's just because no one's ever seen you do that before."

"Not that we wouldn't mind seeing it again," Johnny tossed in, ducking when both Jason and Sonny reached out to smack him.

"Oh, please," Elizabeth got out, stepping behind the boy and lifting her flat palm. "Let _me_ do the honors."

* * *

"I like to be in America! Okay by me in America! Everything free in America-" 

"_For a small fee in Ame-riiiiiica!"_

"That's enough!" Lorenzo Alcazar bellowed at the top of his lungs. "I don't care if APs are over or not – stop singing showtunes!"

Sonny smirked at his teacher as he played with a Rubik's cube, and Jason, although he hadn't been singing along, spoke up in defense.

"Look, Czar, we've only got a week and a half left," he reminded his sullen teacher. "We're going to get in all the showtunes we possibly can."

"Ooh, I've got one we haven't done yet: _It's good ol' reliable Nathan, Nathan, Nathan, Nathan, Detroit!"_

"_If you're looking for action, he will show you the spot – even though the heat is on, it ain't never too hot!"_

Mr. Alcazar rolled his eyes. "All right, you little deviants-"

"_Not for good ol' reliable Nathan," _Sonny and Elizabeth belted out together, grinning at the perplexed man. _"Why, it's always just a short walk-"_

"Bonnie and Clyde, not you, too!"

"To the oldest established, permanent floating crab game in New Yooooooooooork!" 

"FINE! I give up! Is that what you hoodlums want to hear!"

"…_In a hideout provided by Naaaaaaathan, where there are no neighbors to SQUAWK! To the oldest established permanent floating crab gaaaaaaaame in New Yooooooooooork!"_

"It's children like you that drive me to drink," Mr. Alcazar groused, eyeing the clock. There were still about seven minutes left in the period, two minutes before the children announced that it was 'about that time' and that was when they _really_ went nuts. "Hey, look at the clock – it's about that time."

Jason and Taggert quirked a brow at him. "Are you serious-"

"Go on, get out of here," the teacher grimaced, tipping his head toward the door. "Go run willy-nilly in the streets."

All twenty-two faces in the room instantly beamed. "Thanks, Czar!" Lorenzo barely had time to tell them that he was joking before the room was clear and their footsteps were pounding down the hall.

"Wow, we drove him nuts today," Elizabeth snickered as she linked arms with Jason's and let him lead her down the stairs to the parking lot for lunch. "He's never done _that_ before."

"You think we really drive him to drink?" Jason wondered aloud as he held the door for her.

"No, I think his subject matter drives him to drink," his girlfriend giggled before sobering. "But you know, I never really thought of it that way before."

"Thought of what?"

She bit her bottom lip. "That we only have about eight days left to do all this."

"Yup," Jason nodded briskly as they neared his Jeep. "Eight school days left and then we're free."

Elizabeth's brows furrowed slightly as he opened the door for her, and she slid slowly onto the leather seat, fiddling with the strap of her purse as Jason walked around to the other side and got it. Eight days left of school – eight days left before everything changed and it was impossible to hide from it anymore.

And Jason didn't really seem to be all that concerned about any of it.

* * *

"Why do boys like working on cars so much?" Brenda wondered as she popped another tortilla chip into her mouth and reached for her lemonade. "I mean, is there something there that I just don't see?"

"There's something there that _no_ woman ever sees," Sydney informed her, dusting salt off her fingers. "Guys just like cars – they like tinkering with them. Tinker, tinker, tinker – that's all they do, even when there's nothing that needs tinkering to begin with!"

"I'll drink to that," Elizabeth announced, gulping down her lemonade and shifting in her seat so that the sun didn't hit her eyes from under the patio umbrella. She along with several other girls were currently sitting on Brenda's deck surrounded by fashion magazines, ice-cold lemonade, and enough tortilla chips to feed the country of Mexico for a year. "I made the mistake of dropping by at Jason's once when he was 'tinkering' with his bike – I barely got two words out of him the whole time, except, of course, for, 'Elizabeth, can you hand me that rag?'. Sheesh."

"And now they're working on Sonny's car," Brenda sighed, swirling her chip in salsa. "All those buffoons, sitting around in Sonny's garage working on his car. It's ridiculous. Take it into the dealer if it's that bad – and heck, I'll bet they never take their cars in for the six-month check, either. Boys."

"Wait – you take yours in to the dealer every six months?" Elizabeth wanted to know. "Bren, that's a total rip-off. You don't need to do that."

"She's right," Carol agreed. "That's just what they say, but it's totally not necessary."

"Besides, you could just get the boys to look at it," Emily supplied, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure they'd jump at the chance."

"Oh, no," Brenda shook her head emphatically. "No way I'm letting those baboons get near my Pat. Don't even talk like that, Em."

"You know, I'm going to miss these random parties of ours," Carol announced suddenly, flipping her magazine shut and dropping it on the table. "We have to do these a lot more over the summer because after that, we'll all be gone."

Brenda nodded slowly. "Stuck studying."

"Making new friends."

"Trying to figure out how to do our own laundry."

"Living on mac and cheese."

"Meeting cute college boys."

Elizabeth slid her friend a wry look. "Emily, come on! What about Ace? You've already got yourself a cute boy."

The redhead shrugged. "Who knows if we'll still want to be together after this summer?"

That got her attention. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, Beth," the redhead replied, quirking a brow at her. "I'm going to California, he's going to Texas. I've never been one for a long-distance relationship, so, who knows? Maybe I'll end it. Or maybe he'll beat me to it. We'll just have to see."

"Try to do it first," Carol suggested. "Unless you think he's going to want to stay with you and you want that, too, although I doubt it from knowing you. Just don't let him be the first one to do it."

Brenda was nodding slowly and Elizabeth shot her a bewildered look. "Bren! You look like you think this is a good idea!"

Her friend shrugged. "It's up to them, Beth. If neither of them want to deal with a long-distance relationship, that's their choice."

"But you guys have been together for months!" Elizabeth exclaimed, furrowing her brows at Emily. "And you're just going to break it off – just like that?"

"Sure."

"No!" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "If you care about someone, you stick with them. You make an effort and you _try_."

"Oh, Beth," Emily chuckled, rolling her eyes. "You're just saying that because you think that everyone belongs with someone else – that everyone should be paired up."

"I do not!" She rested one elbow on her chair and lunged for another chip. "I just think that you shouldn't throw away something good just because you think it might get tough later on. If anything, you should fight harder to stay together and make this work – that's what you do if you really care about someone, and I can't believe you're just going to walk away from this as easily as that. You and Ace are so cute together and-"

"Um, Beth?" Carol's hazel eyes glittered with amusement. "Look at what you just did."

Elizabeth glanced at her, confused, as Brenda stifled a giggle. "What?"

"You pushed the cheese and salsa bottles together."

The brunette glanced down at the table where, sure enough, the cheese and salsa bottles were pressed up together. "I did not."

"Oh, yes, you did," Carol smirked. "They were six inches apart and when you started your tirade, you reached for a chip and then pushed them together."

"To make a _pair_," Emily contributed with a wicked laugh. "See? We told you that you think everything should be paired up!"

"Oh, shut up," she groused as the other girls laughed.

"Jesus, Beth, you're so cute sometimes," Emily snickered. "Anyway, I've been thinking about doing this for a while, and I know I can't do it this month because his birthday's this month and-"

Sitting with her legs crossed in the patio chair, Elizabeth listened to the conversation continue around her as Emily planned out the best way to break it off with her boyfriend. She couldn't for a minute say that she agreed with it. But Brenda was right – this was between Emily and Ace, and if they decided that they no longer wanted to be together, then no amount of guilt-tripping or hen-pecking on her part would amount to anything. And as much as she hated to admit it, she knew that Emily had at least one valid point: long-distance relationships were difficult.

She just hoped that she had the strength to deal with one herself.


	30. Time of Your Life

**Time of Your Life (Good Riddance!)**

_This takes place during the last week of school and skips from day to day._

Mr. Alcazar was a very confused man as he stood in the hallway after the last bell had rung, looking into the smug and grinning faces of several of his students who were just about to head home.

"So you want to tell me, Spencer, why, exactly, you're in a towel?"

The trumpet player grinned crookedly at his teacher, adjusting the beach towel he had wrapped around his waist. "I went swimming."

"When!" his Calculus teacher demanded as Jason, Elizabeth, and Sonny tried their best not to laugh. "When could you possibly have had the time today to go swimming?"

"During lunch."

That threw the tall Spaniard for a loop. "And how did you manage to swing that, pray tell?"

Luke shrugged, slipping off one black flip-flop in order to shake a small pebble loose. "We went to Sonny's house for lunch – all of us – and he has a pool."

It still wasn't making any sense to Mr. Alcazar, who was the sort of man who enjoyed having all the answers – although that still didn't explain why he became a math teacher. "You kids only have twenty-five minutes for lunch, and it takes at least ten to twelve minutes for the round trip to Sonny's house."

"Well, you haven't seen the way Sonny drives," Elizabeth quipped, biting her lip to keep from laughing aloud as Mr. Alcazar glared at her.

"So let me get this straight – instead of eating, you went swimming."

Luke was still smirking at his favorite teacher. "Basically. The gals were inside, scrounging around for some food and I just jumped into the pool. Then I got out, ate a sandwich and a pop-tart and this old cheese that I don't think is sitting right, and then Corinthos gave me a towel and we came back to school."

Jason was jingling his keys in his pocket as he listened, grinning, to his friend's story, and the tall blonde was anxious to get going.

Mr. Alcazar, however, was still trying to wrap his head around the situation. "So you went out for a fifteen-minute lunch – at best – and went swimming, borrowed a beach towel, and came back to school."

"Yeah."

"_Please_ tell me you're wearing something under that towel."

Elizabeth burst out laughing as Jason grabbed her hand, waving goodbye to their teacher, while Luke smirked. "That's classified information."

Their teacher was groaning as the four kids excused themselves, more than ready to escape the crowded hallways and get out into the sunshine. "We'll see you tomorrow, Czar!" Elizabeth called, one hand linked with Jason's and the other holding her prized lunchbox.

"Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow-" 

"_You're only a day awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!"_

Mr. Alcazar shook his head and shuffled back to his classroom, convinced now more than ever that his students were all a little touched in the head.

* * *

"Can I ask something?"

Caroline Webber looked up from the fruit she was chopping at her husband, who stood leaning against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed over his chest and a very sour expression on his face. The two of them were currently milling around the kitchen – well, Jeff was milling; _she_, on the other hand, was chopping up some fruit salad for them to take to work tomorrow. "What?"

"Why do we have children in this house?"

His wife quirked a brow at him. "Come again?"

"It's eleven-thirty on a weekday night," he pointed out, tapping his watch for emphasis. "There's school tomorrow, and yet we still have kids in the house. Why?"

Caroline rolled her eyes and smirked down at the fruit. "They're not kids, Jeff – it's just Jason, Sonny and Brenda. And they're not causing any harm."

"They should all be at home in bed."

"Why? Is Wee Willy Winky making the rounds again?" she teased, sliding the fruit into a tupperware container.

Her husband glared at her. "Wee Willy Winky was a pedophile," he muttered. "Damn dirty nursery rhymes."

"Jeff, they're just watching a movie."

"They have school tomorrow, you know," he groused, popping a piece of cantaloupe in his mouth. "And they should all be at home and in bed – after flossing, naturally – and getting the eight hours of sleep they're supposed to. But do they? Noooo. No one ever gets the eight hours they're supposed to and come morning time they're all running around like their pants were on fire."

"It's the last week of school, honey," she replied, handing him a strawberry and watching as he nibbled on it. "They're not doing anything important and as long as they're not tardy, it's no big deal."

"They're eating my chips."

"You're not supposed to have chips."

"I like chips."

"They're not good for your cholesterol."

"Jason ate all of them."

"Oh, he did not – Beth and Brenda did."

Miffed over the fact that his wife had a response for everything, Jeff frowned at his loafers and then leaned back, poking his head out of the kitchen to catch a glimpse of the kids as they watched whatever cheesy movie it was that they were watching. Sonny and Brenda were sprawled out on the couch and Jason and Elizabeth were…

"She's sitting on his lap!" Jeff hissed, abruptly standing upright and glaring at his wife, who was less than concerned than she should be given that their sweet little girl was perched atop some young spiky-haired deviant.

"So what?"

"So WHAT!" He couldn't believe his ears. "She's sitting on his lap!"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Again, so what? I used to sit on your lap all the time."

"Exactly!" he exclaimed. "And did you at any point realize exactly what I was trying to do to you as you sat on my lap?" She slid him a skeptical look that only reinforced his position. "Exactly!"

"Jeff, just because you were the typical hormonal teenage boy that lacked any semblance of self-control doesn't mean Jason is."

"Doesn't mean he's not," her husband replied stubbornly.

"Jeff, they're young and they're in love. Let it be."

"In love?" Again, he was staring at her as if she had grown three heads. "Who said anything about love? They're just babies – babies don't fall in love! They're mentally incapable of it! First, let's wait for object permanence and _then_ we'll talk about love!"

"Piaget would tell you they already have object permanence," his wife countered smoothly, not even bothering to look up from the fruit. "And I'm telling you they've already got the love part down."

"I don't recall giving anyone permission to fall in love," Jeff pouted, crossing his arms over his chest once more.

"Jeff, it's not going to go away just because you don't like it." She couldn't help but smile at her husband – he looked adorable when he was feeling old. "Jason's a good boy – you've said so yourself on occasion."

"I must have been drunk."

"You were not drunk; you were entirely serious."

"I don't like it."

Wiping her hands on a dish towel, Caroline abandoned the fruit and walked over to her husband, looping both arms around his waist and kissing him on the chin. "He's good for her, Jeff. She's happy."

He kissed her back softly, trying to remember again what it had felt like back in his college days when he had spotted the blonde bombshell that would one day be his wife walking out of the library, a stack of books and a cup of coffee in her hand, and her hair fixed up in a little twist with a pencil. He tried to remember the butterflies when he first talked to her, the exhilaration when she had told him she'd go out with him, the utter bliss the first time he'd made love to her. And provided that Jason and his little girl weren't taking any part in the third sort of activity, Jeff decided slowly, reluctantly, that he could deal with it.

"I don't know why you like him so much."

His wife's blue eyes twinkled. "Because he makes you feel old and crotchety, and I'm all about seeing you miserable."

"I thought so."

She laughed in his arms, resting her head against his strong chest, and Jeff leaned back once more to glance at the kids.

"Why does she have to sit in his lap, though? Is there some sort of National Chair Shortage?"

"Jeff…"

"No, seriously, because if there is, we've got to do something about it. An epidemic of this proportion can't be ignored!"

"Jeffrey…"

"Quick! Someone call Kofi Annan!"

"I'm going to call the nice men with the white jackets if you don't stop it, Jeffrey Webber."

He pouted as she pressed her forehead to his chin. "You're absolutely no fun, you know that?"

"Who, me? I'm tons of fun. You're just getting old."

* * *

"Party at Beth's! Here – have a flyer! And you – I wanna see you there! Whoot! Party at Beth's tonight!"

Jason spun around on his heels as Johnny O'Brien flew past him, passing out a bunch of flyers to everyone he met in the hallway. Next to him, Sonny had also stopped and was watching the scene curiously.

"Did you know about a party?" they asked each other simultaneously. Groaning in unison, they both turned and marched over to Johnny, determined to get some answers out of the boy. Just as they were about to grab him and make him sing, Brenda and Elizabeth popped into view, giggling together over something.

"Hey," Sonny was reaching for his girlfriend's elbow, "what's this about a party?"

"Oh, didn't we tell you guys?" Elizabeth asked breathlessly, brushing her bangs out of her face as her gaze darted from Sonny to Jason. "I'm throwing a party – tonight. So be there!"

The two girls were about to run off to class but Sonny and Jason both grabbed them by the waist simultaneously, tugging them back.

"Since when is there a party?" Jason asked, his hands still gripping her narrow hips. "And how the hell is your father not already summoning the SWAT team?"

"Because he's going to be working the midnight shift tonight and won't be knowing about it," Elizabeth answered cheekily, rising up on her toes and kissing him on the lips. "So be there around nine – Bren and I convinced Eddie Mane's band to come, and they'll be there around ten, and the food's already taken care of. See you guys then!"

And with that, the two girls ducked out from Sonny and Jason's hold and scurried down the hall, leaving their boyfriends alone and very confused.

* * *

"She's gonna get in _sooo_ much trouble for this," Sonny murmured as he and Jason grabbed their drinks and pushed open the screen door to the back deck. The Webber house was jam-packed with kids and more seemed to be arriving every minute. Every single light on the main floor was on, but the real party was out back. Elizabeth and Brenda had hastily set up lights all throughout the backyard and on the deck and that was where everyone was gathered. Johnny had brought over a couple of folding card tables from his father's poker nights and the pizza boxes were piled on top of that – a generous donation courtesy of Sydney's uncle, who ran a pizzeria – and the drinks were set out on the deck. The band had arrived about an hour ago and quickly set up, and they had launched into a set about twenty minutes ago. The party was a hit, and Elizabeth and Brenda were all over the place.

Jason and Sonny were out back by the band when their girlfriends finally came over, and they were able to usurp two lawn chairs from a couple of sophomores that were deemed cool enough to attend a senior party. Elizabeth and Brenda had grabbed a box of pizza and now settled onto Jason and Sonny's respective laps to eat.

"So, where should I send the flowers for your funeral?" Sonny asked amicably as Brenda let him take a bite out of her slice. "Are you expecting an open casket, or will the injuries be too severe?"

"You worry too much, Corinthos," Elizabeth grinned, wagging a finger at him. "I guarantee you that my parents won't have a clue."

"What about all the trash that collects tonight?"

"Dumpster on Elm – we can just cut through the O'Flannigans' back yard and it's right in the alley next to the kiddie park."

"All the stuff everyone brought?"

"It's just Johnny's tables and the lights that Carol and them brought over – they're all heading back in Syd's minivan as soon as everyone clears out."

Sonny was frowning thoughtfully as Brenda arranged herself comfortably across his long legs. "Aha – you haven't thought of everything, Beth. What about all the noise we're making? Do you honestly think your neighbors won't complain to your parents the next time they see them?"

Brenda and Elizabeth were sharing cheeky grins – the kinds of grins that only served to make their boyfriends exceedingly nervous. "We already hit up the neighbors and told them we were throwing a shin-dig of sorts," Elizabeth smirked, licking pizza sauce of her fingertips. "They know to keep it on the down-low as long as we don't completely go ape."

"How the hell-"

"Hey, they know me," Elizabeth replied defensively. "I'm the one that always bakes them brownies on their kids' birthdays. They know I never do anything like this and so they said they were willing to put up for a night."

"Man, I've gotta move into _this_ neighborhood," Sonny mumbled, stealing another bite of Brenda's pizza.

"You and me both," Jason agreed, shaking his head. Sometimes, Elizabeth really managed to luck out.

* * *

Carol Benson's heels made quite a clatter as she pounded down the wooden stairs from the deck. She pushed through a couple of her friends, frantically searching for one in particular, and then she spotted them.

Elizabeth was seated on Jason's lap and the two were commencing to make out as Eddie and his boys kicked off another song that was a mix between hard rock and extra loud, and the two were completely oblivious to their surroundings. Not knowing what else to do, Carol marched up to them and tugged on Elizabeth's shoulder.

The brunette pulled back from her boyfriend in surprise, and Carol winced when Jason glared darkly at her. "What's up?"

The blonde nibbled her lip and toyed with one of her rings. "Um, there seems to be one little problem here, Beth."

"What is it?"

"I think you'd better come inside with me."

She continued to play with her ring, twisting it awkwardly back and forth on her finger as Elizabeth sighed and pushed herself up off of her less than pleased boyfriend. Jason hopped up after her and grabbed her hand, following Carol as the tall blonde quickly pushed her way through the massive crowd assembled in the backyard.

"What do you think it is?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and glanced up at Jason. "With my luck, someone probably broke a vase."

Carol was holding the screen door for them, anxiously ushering them in, and as soon as Elizabeth stepped into the kitchen, her jaw practically fell to the floor. There, in the entranceway, stood her bewildered grandparents.

"Pappy! Gram! What are you doing here?" Her knees were wobbly as she let go of Jason's hand and walked up to them. The older couple was looking around in blatant shock at the empty pizza boxes, soda bottles, and the grungy band that was playing just behind the screen door. "You were supposed to be spending the night at Uncle Rick's house!"

"We decided to cut the evening short," her grandfather replied in a low, gruff voice, glancing around the house as if to make sure that the structure was still fundamentally sound. There was no guarantee of that when teenagers were on the loose. "And from the looks of it here, we seem to have made the right decision."

Outside, Eddie let loose with a wild chord and Audrey winced, raising one hand to her ear. "Well! You seem to be doing all right for yourself!"

"Gram, I can explain-"

"Jason." Steve Hardy's less-than-thrilled gray eyes fell on the tall young man as he sidled up next to Elizabeth. "You wouldn't have had a hand in this little get-together, would you?"

"Sir-"

"No, Pappy, Jason had nothing to do with this," Elizabeth interrupted. "And I promise, if you can give me two minutes, I'll explain everything-"

"Explain?" the old man asked, taking off his hat and holding it by the rim as the crowd cheered outside. "What's to explain? You're throwing a party!"

"And without your parents' permission, I assume?" Audrey asked, quirking one silver brow at her youngest grandchild. "I hardly imagine that your father would approve of this."

"He'd probably be out searching for his rifle and a good strong water hose," Steve couldn't help but mutter, swallowing his grin when Audrey glared at him. The old man's eyes met Jason's and he tipped his head awkwardly. "I'm sorry, Jason, how rude of me – water hoses are no laughing matter." But he couldn't even make it through the apology with a straight face and Jason smirked as the old man laughed into his fist as his wife rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Steven, honestly," Audrey clucked, her hand clutching his as the band started another rock anthem. "Elizabeth, I just don't know what to say. You'll have to excuse your grandfather and I as we discuss this and try to figure out a suitable course of action."

Jason glanced down at his girlfriend, whose cheeks were tinted pink as she closed her palms together and hooked her thumbs under her chin, and he could instantly see how worried she was. This wasn't part of the plan at all. He could only slip his arm around her waist, tugging her softly into his side, as she watched her grandparents deliberate in hushed whispers.

After what seemed like an eternity, they turned back to her with serious looks on their faces.

"Elizabeth," her grandfather began in a stern tone, and the little brunette instantly knew that she was in for it. But his next words surprised her. "Is it safe to assume that the upstairs has been safe from this rampage?"

Her brows shot up quickly. "Uh…yeah. I haven't let anyone go upstairs – we've all stayed down here."

"All right," Steve nodded as Audrey clasped her purse in front of her. "In that case, your grandmother and I will go upstairs. What time do you suppose this shin-dig will wrap up?"

Neither Jason nor Elizabeth could believe their ears. "Um…in a couple hours?"

Audrey and Steve exchanged glances and Elizabeth watched her grandmother nod once. "All right, then," her grandfather agreed. "And everything is to be spic and span by the time your parents get home, young lady – am I understood?"

"Coming through loud and clear," she grinned back as a feeling of immense relief washed over her. "Oh, thank you, Gram, Pappy."

"Yes, well," Audrey nodded, leaving it at that. "Goodnight, Jason."

"Goodnight, Mrs. Hardy."

And with that, Steve and his wife turned and left, leaving Jason and Elizabeth standing in the kitchen by themselves as the band roared behind them. The little brunette huffed to herself in amazement and then spun around with him, slipping her hand into the back pocket of Jason's jeans as he led her back outside.

"Man. I really manage to luck out sometimes, don't I?"

* * *

"Beth – great party last night."

"Yeah, hey, thanks for the invite!"

"Dude, you have to do that again sometime."

Elizabeth smiled and tipped her head at her schoolyard friends as she and Jason sauntered down the hall on their way to Calculus. "It _was_ pretty fun, wasn't it?"

"I'd say so." He laughed when she poked him in the side and squirmed away. "What?"

"You didn't think I'd be able to pull it off," she claimed with a teasing glimmer in her eyes. "Admit it, Morgan."

"All right, fine, I thought your dad was going to run in at any minute armed with an Uzi and start kicking some ass."

"My dad would never _touch_ an Uzi!" she exclaimed, pretending to be offended as he held the door for her and ushered her into Mr. Alcazar's classroom. "A bazooka, sure, he's actually got that on layaway at Sears, but an Uzi? Jason, please!"

"A bazooka," he muttered under his breath as he flopped down into his seat. "Yeah, and I bet the bullets have my name carved into them."

"What are you two belly-aching about?" Mr. Alcazar wanted to know as he got out the attendance sheet.

"We're discussing possible ways for my father to murder Jason."

The teacher's black eyes flew to the young man and he quickly sized him up before replying wryly, "Yeah, I can't say I'm surprised."

"Beth!" Sonny Corinthos didn't have a care in the world as he floated into the classroom, armed only with a solitary pencil. "I was just talking to Eddie, and get this – he told me to tell you that he'd be totally up for playing at any of your other parties."

Mr. Alcazar's dark brows furrowed as Elizabeth laughed. "Party? What party?"

"What rock do you live under, Czar?" Luke couldn't resist tossing out. "Beth threw a bitchin' party last night – pardon my French."

"Beth doesn't throw parties," his teacher huffed in disbelief before eyeing the brunette skeptically. "Do you?"

She crossed her legs primly, treating him to a cheeky smirk. "I most certainly do. And for the record, your invitation must have gotten lost in the mail."

He frowned at her teasing. "What did you do?- Oh, wait, let me guess: you kids played a rousing game of Monopoly, ate a TV dinner, flossed and then it was lights out, right? Good times."

Marcus let out a laugh. "Keep dreaming, Czar – the party didn't even start til nine."

"The band showed up at ten," Luke added, "and so did the food. We completely _trashed_ the joint – stayed there til five in the morning. I'm operating on twenty minutes of sleep!"

"That's more than I got," Elizabeth smirked, running her hands through her silky brown locks. "The only sleep I got was five minutes in Mr. Lewis' Spanish class today. _Ai, dio mio._"

"An all-nighter?" Mr. Alcazar could hardly believe his ears. "You had an all-night party? _You_?"

"Hey, just trying to live in the fast lane, Czar," she ribbed, her eyes sparkling. "Livin' through it slow in the fast lane."

Jason was the only one that got that, and Mr. Alcazar frowned as the two exchanged knowing smiles. "I know – it was Morgan. He put you up to it, didn't he? How do you sleep at night, Jason, corrupting poor, innocent minds-"

"She's not as innocent as you think," was all the boy said before his classmates exploded in laughter over the unintended innuendo. Elizabeth's ears were pink as she laughed along, and Mr. Alcazar could only shake his head, thinking to himself that it truly was a sign of the Apocalypse when a girl like Elizabeth Webber let loose.

* * *

"I can't believe it's the last day of school."

"I can't believe we have detention on the freaking morning of the last day of school."

Stretching out her legs and smoothing the wrinkles out of her white knee-length skirt, Elizabeth frowned at the clock. Seven-twenty. They still had a good ten minutes before the detention monitor would let them all out.

"It was totally worth it."

The monitor, a short, stout lady with black hair, looked out at the twenty-two Calculus students and graduating seniors from over the rims of her glasses. "What did you kids do, anyway?"

Luke was stretching back in his chair, his head thrown back and his eyes closed as he tried to work out a kink in his lower back. "We ditched our Calculus class a couple days ago and went out to a fancy restaurant for a really, _really_ long lunch."

"That's it?"

"Yeah."

"And they put you here?"

Sonny rolled his eyes and tapped one foot on the tiles. "Our teacher didn't even care – he was cool with it. The deans cracked down, though."

"And now we're serving a freaking detention on the last day of school," Taggert chuckled. "It's kinda funny when you think about it."

Elizabeth was already smirking. "You know, it really is. But, hey, at least we go out with a bang."

"With a bang and a couple of farm animals, you mean," Sonny corrected her with a grin.

"Farm animals?" The detention monitor perked up at that. "Oh, no – what did you kids do?"

"Nothing," Luke replied easily, glancing at his watch. In exactly half an hour, a pick-up would pull up to the Band Room's entrance to the building and release three goats into the building, numbered 1, 2, and 4. And he was willing to bet his favorite blue suede shoes that the same deans that dumped them all in here for no reason would have one hell of a time searching for goat number 3. It was the senior prank to end all senior pranks. "We didn't do anything _baaaa_-d."

Elizabeth burst out laughing at his imitation of a goat's bleating, and the brunette couldn't quite meet the gaze of the confused detention monitor. There were few better ways to end the year than a wild goose – or rather, goat – chase through the building.

* * *

"You kids think you're pretty smart," Mr. Alcazar growled as he perched himself atop his desk. "Don't you?"

"It was never stated but always implicitly understood, yes," Luke allowed, dropping his feet on the chair in front of him. "You're looking a little upset, Czar – who spit in your bean curd?"

Their teacher couldn't help but smirk at his students. "Okay, I'll make you a deal – you tell me who was responsible for the goats and I in turn won't tell the administration that there is no Goat Number Three."

Sonny instantly grinned. "You knew, huh?"

"I don't know how the deans haven't figured it out already," Elizabeth giggled, unable to help herself. "Seriously, it's not like it's the most original prank in the book. I was walking by the library and I heard them talking with the maintenance and saying to check the perimeters for the third one. It's ridiculous!"

"And let me make another guess," Mr. Alcazar ventured with a grin. "Luke, you were already called into the principal's office this morning."

"Twice," the boy confirmed. "Thankfully, they got nothing. Those goats won't sing, I know that much. They can't rat me out."

"So who did it?"

"It was a team effort, really," Marcus replied. "Honestly, Czar, the less we tell you, the better – then when they drag you into the dark room with the single light bulb and go all Spanish Inquisition on you, you won't have to lie."

"With this administration, that's not too much of a stretch," their teacher mumbled under his breath before changing the subject. "So…today's your last Calc class. You hooligans must be dancing for joy."

"We're dancin' on the inside, Czar," Luke grinned, tossing him a wink. "Dancin' up a storm."

"No more integrating, no more deriving, no more figuring out the area under curves," Sonny sighed happily. "Yeah, I can definitely get behind that."

"No more crunch sessions, no more lame puns, no more drill sergeant bits," Elizabeth added with a chuckle as Mr. Alcazar glared at her. "Sounds good to me."

"Hey, as long as I get a halfway decent score on the AP exam, it's all been worth it," Jason announced, linking his fingers behind his head. "That's what I'm out for."

"I think you did well," his teacher assured him. "You got a 4 on the practice exams we took, almost a five. You should have done well. All of you most likely did well."

"Did you know that Columbia only accepts a 4 or a 5 on Calc, otherwise you have to take it there for gen ed?" Elizabeth demanded, throwing her hands in the air. "What kind of cracked rule is that?"

"You can't be worried you got a three, Beth," Sonny drawled. "You're fine."

"Columbia," Mr. Alcazar was murmuring softly under his breath, a faraway look on his face. "You're going to be at Columbia next year."

Elizabeth's nod was almost imperceptible. "That's right."

"And you – NYU, right?"

"Yup."

"Penn State, Boston University, Georgetown, NYU?"

"Right."

"Uh-huh."

"You got it."

"Yup."

He shook his head in amazement. "Wow. It still hasn't hit yet, you know?" The students exchanged curious and somewhat embarrassed glances with each other as Mr. Alcazar smiled down at the waxed floor. "You're all outta here – you're done. You're moving on. Seems like just yesterday, you were a bunch of scared little juniors coming in from Tracy's pre-calculus sections."

Luke shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with the sudden nostalgic display and did what he did best – made a joke about it. "You're not going to get all sappy on us, are you, Czar? 'Cause, seriously?- I can get the same thing from Oprah. Damn scary lady."

Mr. Alcazar smirked at his favorite troublemaker. "Do you remember the time you showed up wearing a fez hat?"

Luke's blue eyes lit up at the unexpected question. "Oh, yeah – I almost forgot about that! I'm going to have to dig that old thing out; it's going to come in handy next year!"

Their teacher was laughing to himself. "You had a bell tied from a string on the inside of your hat, and every time I turned my back you'd shake your head and the bell would ring. By the end of the hour, I was begging you kids to come clean just because I was so curious to find out how someone was doing it."

Taggert was laughing. "And we wouldn't tell you for a week – classic."

"And you-" Lorenzo's lips curled in a mock frown, "I was never able to stop you from ducking out five minutes early, was I?"

"I told you a million times you never stood a chance, Czar," Jason reminded him, stretching out his long legs in front of him as Sonny snickered.

Mr. Alcazar just stared at Jason for a moment, tilting his head to the side as he thought. "You know," he started, rubbing his chin with one hand. "I think, out of everyone in this room, that Jason has changed the most this year."

The boy frowned at that. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, not in a bad way," his teacher assured him. "Not like that at all. You just used to be so loud and…sociable, and then you really just calmed down. The rest of you clowns can take a lesson from that!"

"It's 'cause of the Missus," Luke smirked, tossing Elizabeth a wink. "Ever since she sank her claws in to him, Morgan's been as quiet as a mouse."

"I'm going to throw my shoe at you," the little brunette warned, taking off her high-heeled sandal and waving it at him to prove her point. "I'll bean you good."

"And you, Bonnie," Lorenzo clucked, teasing her, "you've become so violent."

"Hasn't she?" Jason couldn't help but laugh at his girlfriend – she was so adorable when she was angry. "It's fun to get her all fired up."

"You really need to stop with the double entendres, there, man," Luke chuckled, wiggling his brows suggestively.

"Big word coming from you, Spencer," the blonde tossed back. "Sure you didn't sprain your brain using it?"

Lorenzo laughed as Luke made whipping motions in the air complete with sound effects. "I'm going to miss the way you kids fight."

"We'll come back at the same time to visit you and we'll fight then," Elizabeth assured him with a small smile. "We're all like the Three Stooges with calculators."

"Be sure you do-" he interrupted eagerly. "Come back and visit, that is. You're my first crop of AP students and…you're probably the most fun class I've ever taught. It's been my pleasure to teach you for this past year."

Sonny was eyeing him skeptically. "Wait a minute – you hated our stunts. Remember how we did the wave behind your back when the Principal came to talk to you?"

"Or how we ducked out five minutes early every single day?"

"Or how we'd pull out your puzzles and play with them instead of taking notes?"

"And the time we grabbed the CD player and blasted it and formed a mosh pit in the center of the room?"

"Or when we ditched your class to go to lunch?"

"The showtunes, people, you can't forget the showtunes!"

Mr. Alcazar was laughing as the students tossed out every grievance they could think of. "Well, sure, I had to pretend to be angry with you. What kind of teacher would I be if I encouraged that sort of preposterous behavior?"

"What do you mean, _pretend_?" Sonny asked suspiciously.

"What do you mean, _preposterous_?" Luke wanted to know. "Look, man, our religion's got nothing to do with it."

Lorenzo burst out laughing at that and had to compose himself before he could speak. "You kids were the most lively bunch I ever got to teach. And even though you drove me crazy, at the end of the day I knew you'd come back to me with the work done. And that made it all worth it."

"Aw, Czar, you're not going to cry, are you?"

"Ooh, he so is."

"You're such a _girl_, Czar – woah, just kidding! Jesus, don't hurt me!"

"See, I knew it was only a matter of time before we made him cry."

"Scratching _that_ off my To Do list…"

"It's impossible to have a genuine, heartfelt conversation with you miscreants," Mr. Alcazar groused, glaring at his amused students. "Everything's a joke, huh? So, what, I'm not even allowed to say goodbye to my favorite students? To tell them that they made me want to come into work every day just to see what kind of crazy crap they'd pull next? That I'll miss them and I hope – I _know_ – they'll do well wherever they go?"

Elizabeth was watching him with a watery smile on her face, and she bit her lip before she spoke, calling for everyone's attention. "Come on, guys, we've got one last chance. Let's make it good – for the Czar. On three."

"One," Sonny counted off, knowing exactly what was going to happen as their teacher stared at them in confusion. "Two…Three."

"_Is this the little girl I carried? Is this the little boy at play?"_

Lorenzo covered his eyes with a groan, unable to keep from laughing. "Oh, no!"

"_I don't remember growing older; when did they?"_

"Okay, I get it, you guys will miss me, too, fine-"

"_When did she get to be a beauty? When did he get to be so tall?"_

"All right, all right, I get it! We're good!"

_"SUNRISE, SUNSET! SUNRISE, SUNSET! Swiftly flow the days! Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers, blossoming even as we gaze. SUNRISE, SUNSET! SUNRISE, SUNSET!"_

"I hate you all."

* * *

"Our last lunch in the cafeteria." Carol Benson cocked her head to the side, studying all her friends who were currently crammed around the lunch table. "I'm kinda going to miss this place."

"Not me," Elizabeth disagreed, settling back on the plastic chair she was sharing with Brenda. "It's hot, crowded, noisy, and the food is tasteless. But, hey, dorm food won't be any better."

"I won't miss it, either," Sonny declared, wiping breadcrumbs from his fingers. "But I will miss these cheese sticks. Jason, did you know that they served cheese sticks here?"

"Yes."

"How come I was never made aware of it?"

The blonde rolled his eyes. "It was a conspiracy, Sonny. A betrayal of epic proportions."

"Clearly," he huffed, finishing off the last of his lunch.

"What about you, Jase?" Carol interrupted, playing with her carrot sticks. "Yay or Nay?"

"Nay," he answered quickly. "I'm not going to miss this cafeteria at all – Elizabeth's right: it's always full and very noisy and gives me a headache."

"Exactly," the little brunette agreed. "Good riddance to Port Charles High's Commons. We're done here, thank goodness."

"Oh, come on now, Beth," Emily Bowen grinned at her as Ace snagged a couple of her gummy bears. "This cafeteria wasn't _all _bad."

Jason watched his girlfriend stiffen in her seat as Brenda smirked. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Emily's sinister grin spread from ear to ear. "What about all those happy moments you spent sitting at our table, ogling Jason?"

Sonny burst out laughing and Brenda soon joined in as Elizabeth's face flooded with color. The brunette waved a finger at Emily, desperately trying not to give in to the urge to grin. "Shut up."

"The way you'd watch him as he walked back and forth, the way you'd let out those little sighs-"

Jason's grin was proud and somewhat cocky as he reached out to wrap his arm around his girlfriend's tiny waist. With a groan, Elizabeth let her head fall to the table with a soft smack. "I hate you all."

* * *

"What are all the girls crying for?" Jason wanted to know as he, Sonny and Elizabeth inched down the hall. The last bell had just gone off and the senior hallway was flooded with senior students and teachers. "It's not like this is some emotionally traumatic deal."

"Jason Morgan, you're a cold, unfeeling monster," Brenda sniffed, punching his shoulder right before wrapping her arm around Carol's shoulders.

Elizabeth smiled warmly up at her boyfriend as he rolled his eyes, and her fingers softly stroked the golden hair at his temple. Everyone was hugging around her, guys and girls alike, and although she was sad to see them all go, her eyes remained dry. She was never one for a public display of emotion, and even during the days reaching this last day – the last layout session, the last NHS meeting, the last day they'd have to clean out their lockers – she had never once felt the urge to cry. And as her friends milled around her, she was fairly confident she wouldn't. She loved some of them dearly, yes, and she would miss most of them, but she wasn't a wreck over it.

Sonny was shaking hands with one of his teachers and Jason was standing in a huddle of his former track mates when Luke Spencer appeared behind her. Elizabeth barely had time to do anything but yelp in surprise when his strong arms closed around her waist and the boy lifted her up off the floor, swinging her around once.

"I'm gonna miss you, kid," he muttered, finally setting her down and giving her a quick hug. "You were always my favorite midget."

She laughed and pulled him back for another hug. "You take care of yourself, Luke."

The trumpet player gave her a two-finger salute and sidled through the crowd, saying goodbye to friends he met along the way. Taggert, Mr. Dillon Hornsby, Michael Quartermaine, and several other male classmates and teachers gave her a hug as Elizabeth milled about in her hallway. Johnny appeared behind her not too much later, picking her up and swinging her about just like Luke had done.

"I always wanted to do that," he announced simply, chucking her under the chin before moving off to see the rest of his older friends that were graduating this year and leaving him and all the other juniors behind.

Elizabeth met up with all her fellow newspaper staff members, and then finally all of her girlfriends. Most of them were crying and they stood together in a huddle for several minutes before the girls slowly drifted off one by one, sniffling and grabbing a couple tissues despite the fact that they would undoubtedly see each other frequently over the summer.

No tears in sight as she quickly hugged Mr. Alcazar goodbye, and she nodded sincerely when her favorite teacher implored her to visit whenever she had the chance. Jason had said goodbye to most of his friends – she noted with a brief flicker of surprise that some of the guys looked emotional as well – and soon joined her and her remaining girlfriends.

Brenda gave her a hug and a wink, squeezing her shoulder with one hand reaching for Sonny's hand with the other. "We'll see you guys later, okay?"

"Later, Bren, Sonny," Elizabeth smiled as the couple walked away. Jason arms wrapped around her waist and she leaned her head back against his chest as several of their other friends walked by, offering their best wishes and goodbyes.

"Hey." His lips whispered over the delicate shell of her ear as she rested her hands on top of his. "I've gotta cut out a bit early – I'm supposed to pick AJ up from school and drop him off at Chloe's, so I'll see you later, okay?"

I'll see you later, okay? 

The familiarity of the phrase washed over her and all of a sudden, it hit her. This was the last time they'd be standing in their senior hallway. Thinking back, Elizabeth couldn't even count all the times she had milled by her locker with Lauren and the girls, catching a glimpse of Jason as he returned from his class, the times she had followed him down to lunch, ogling him – as Emily would say – shamelessly the whole way, the times they'd been frowned at by Mr. Alcazar when he would catch them kissing in the halls.

And that first day that started a whole series of encounters: the day she had fallen in front of Sydney's locker and he had scooped her up as if she were a little doll. That's where they were standing right now, at that same junction of the two hallways of the senior floor.

Tears clouded her vision as she felt him pull away, loosen his grip around her waist, and Elizabeth couldn't for the life of her begin to explain why she was suddenly crying. Jason didn't notice and stepped back, fishing for his keys, and then her small hands reached out for him, grasping at him.

"Jason-"

He stopped when he saw the mist in her eyes, the quiver in her lower lip, and Jason quickly stepped back up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her softly. She relaxed under his lips as a soothing warmth spread through her, and she gazed up at him with starry eyes when he pulled back.

"Hey." His nose nudged hers as he tucked her silky chocolate locks behind her tiny ears. "I'll see you later."

She returned his warm smile, feeling slightly silly at her sudden quasi-meltdown, and nodded as he backed away, still smiling at her. His blue eyes were twinkling and she waved him on, watching as he turned, fished the keys out of his pockets, and ambled toward the stairwell.

The hallway was almost empty when she turned around, and Elizabeth nodded once to herself. They were all gone, but then again, they'd all see each other later.


	31. One Fine Day

**Note:** Yeah, at this point I'm just totally for finishing this story out so that I can launch the sequel and begin to rectify things. That's the plan. And trust me, I gots a plan. This is just me putting all sorts of related things together in one chapter. Eh.

**One Fine Day**

_This takes place over the course of a few weeks, starting with the week of graduation and continuing into the summer. Yaar. _

Graduation was upon them before they knew it. Just one day, they had been standing in their senior hallway, teasing a teary Mr. Alcazar, and one week later, they were standing in front of the building on the last night that they would enter it.

The week off had done them all good; the days had been spent lounging under the sun in Jason's backyard, playing in the pool at Sonny's house, watching movies and eating Jeff's chips at Elizabeth's house, and throwing a crazy house party at the Barrett residence.

"My gown smells like hair spray," Brenda frowned, lifting the folded blue silk to her nose. "Ew."

Elizabeth smirked and shook her head, following her best friend into the bathroom. She had about five minutes to be dressed in her medals and report to the Band Room; all of the students graduating in the top five percent of the class were supposed to don their special medals and special tassles and show up for a pre-graduation picture.

The bathroom was jam-packed with their other friends, all of whom were trying to figure out how to get their caps to stay on their heads and using a judicious amount of hairpins to accomplish the trick. Carol had already fixed hers and helped Elizabeth put her own cap on over her straightened hair. Sydney helped her zip up her gown and grabbed the medals from her tote, and she was set.

"See you guys later," she smiled, stepping outside and leaving them to spritz Brenda's gown with perfume to get rid of the hair spray odor. Sonny and Jason were walking down the hallway on their way to the Band Room, both of them dressed in their gowns, and Elizabeth couldn't help but smile.

Sonny grinned instantly when he saw her, but Jason was pouting down at his gown. Shaking her head, Elizabeth stepped up to him and brushed his hands away from his neck, fixing the attachable collar herself so that it looked the way it was supposed to. "There. Now don't you go messing that up, Morgan."

His sandy brows furrowed as Jason looked down at the gown he was wearing over his black dress pants. "I hate this thing."

"Hey, at least yours doesn't smell like hair spray," Elizabeth smirked, stepping between the two boys and looping her arms through theirs as they all stepped into the Music wing.

* * *

"Twenty bucks says Czar starts tearing up halfway into his speech."

"Jason, shh!" Elizabeth couldn't help but grin up at her boyfriend as they filed down the aisle to their seats along with the rest of their classmates. The class had been split in two and herded into two long lines, and as usual, M and W wound up together.

The graduation was being held in spacious Port Charles High gymnasium and although none of the graduates were too thrilled about it, most realized that it wasn't that big of a deal at all. They had already graduated; the ceremony was a formality that was basically for their parents, all of whom lined the bleachers that extended up to the balconies on either side of the gym.

Elizabeth scanned the crowd on the right for her parents, hoping beyond hope for the off-chance that she'd be able to find them in the sea of faces. She should have told her father to wear some outrageous hat or something. The band continued to play the march as she searched and finally, she found her sister's face. Sarah and her boyfriend Clint sat right next to her parents and grandparents and they all waved at her when they saw her looking back at them. She smiled brightly back at them, suppressing a giggle when her father waved broadly.

Next to her, Jason was also discreetly searching the bleachers as they walked. He figured it should be fairly easy to spot his own family – all six of them had come. Before long, he found them in the center bleachers. His mother and father, his grandfather and grandmother, and Tracy and AJ. His older sister had flown in for the occasion and had been staying with them for the past few days, and would soon be flying back out again just like Sarah and Clint. Proud grins bloomed instantly on all six faces when the Morgans saw Jason looking up at them, and he contained a smirk when all of them waved at him simultaneously.

His father looked away for a minute and Jason saw an expression of surprise flicker across his features. And then the well-dressed doctor was waving elsewhere – at someone else. Monica looked in that direction and smiled, and when Jason followed her gaze he found none other than the Drs. Webber on the opposite side of the gym.

Elizabeth, too, had seen her family's attention turn elsewhere and just then spotted the Quartermaines herself. She caught Jason's glance and couldn't help but chuckle back. Breaking graduation procedure as indoctrinated upon them by their gym teacher, the brunette reached out and slipped her hand into Jason's larger one.

"Twenty says that Luke beans the Principal in the head when it comes time to throw our caps."

* * *

"I now present to you the class of-"

The Principal's voice was cut off with a resounding chorus of yells as the new graduates stood up from their seats, cheering loudly. Their voices resonated through the gymnasium, coupled with the applause from their families, as two thousand blue caps flew into the air, yellow tassles and all.

Luke didn't bean the Principal, but he did chuck his hat at one of the deans, grinning innocently when the man grabbed it before it could hit his chest. They were all fair game.

Mr. Alcazar's smile was bittersweet as he watched the young men and women celebrating in the center of the gymnasium. The girls were laughing, the boys were grinning, and all of them were eagerly awaiting their turn to file into the aisle and leave the gym. The rows exited with jubilant swiftness, and the students now filed into the Field House to say goodbye and meet up with their folks. He knew this wasn't the brightest arrangement, because the parents would only file in after the kids and the entire Field House would be jam-packed with people and no one would be able to find anyone.

But perhaps that was the fun of it – if he had learned anything from his graduating class of miscreants, it was to not sweat the details and fret over minor glitches. As Jason and Elizabeth advised, they should just live through it slow. He'd have to remember to ask Jason for a detailed explanation of that later.

Sonny and Brenda were among the first to duck into the field house, and a thick throng of their friends gathered around them. The cheers were still sounding strong by the time Jason and Elizabeth squeezed through, hand in hand. At this point, finding the folks just wasn't important. The girls immediately broke off from the boys, who were shaking hands and alternately punching each other in the shoulder. The parents were beginning to filter in, looking very confused among the sea of excited children, and the Field House soon turned into a madhouse.

"There she is!" Jeff Webber called out above the churning sea of kids. "I see her! That one there! Oh – wait. Never mind."

Caroline squeezed through a small group of parents behind her husband and somehow managed to spot Sonny. "Jeff, there's Sonny – Jason and Elizabeth can't be too far away."

"Looking for the kids?" came a deep voice behind them, and the two doctors turned to find their old friends. "We haven't had any luck spotting Jason, either."

"They can't be far," Caroline repeated with a smile as she waved over Mike and Adella who were standing with the Barretts. "We'll find them."

The large group of adults moved into the center of the field house, doing their best to duck out of camera shots and not step on anyone's gown. Finally, they found Jason, Sonny, Elizabeth and Brenda standing right in the middle of a thick clot of laughing students. Jeff and Alan stood around clearing their throats loudly for a minute, hoping to attract their kids' attention but when that failed they just began yelling. All four students gaped at the large group of adults before grinning and immediately running over.

Elizabeth threw her arms around her mother and Sarah, and then Clint gave her a hug before her father swept her up in a tight embrace. Her grandparents descended as soon as Jeff set her down, and across from them, Lila was kissing Jason's forehead. Tracy tousled his silky blonde locks affectionately as AJ jumped around between Jason and Edward. Sonny was already being clapped heartily on the back by his older brother, Ric Corinthos, and accepted a hug from his sister-in-law Samantha before pulling his niece, Kristina, into his arms. Adella could be seen hugging Brenda as Hayden and his wife stood proudly by, and finally, the large group began to meander toward the exit.

Mr. Alcazar met them halfway and congratulated all of them, even shaking hands enthusiastically with all their parents and grandparents. AJ wondered aloud if he'd be learning calculus from him in a couple years, to which Sonny, Jason and Elizabeth all groaned aloud before bursting into laughter.

They said goodbye and thank you to all of the teachers they met along the way, exchanging promises to keep in touch and visit whenever they could. Before long, they found themselves by the front doors of the brick building, and that was when Elizabeth stopped them.

"Wait!" she cried, fixing her cap with one hand and trying to retain her grip on her diploma cover. "We need a picture of just the four of us."

Jeff and Alan instantly got out their digital cameras, as did Mike, Hayden, Steve and Edward. They waited patiently, smiling to themselves, as the foursome arranged themselves. It was immediately decided that Elizabeth and Brenda needed to be in the center with their respective boyfriends framing the shot. The multiple flashes went off, capturing the four friends during their last moment within the walls of PC High.

* * *

Elizabeth smoothed imaginary wrinkles out of her dark blue dress and patted down her hair as Jason clicked the auto-lock of his Jeep and settled one hand on her back to lead her into the building. "Do I look all right?"

He swept one easy glance over his girlfriend from her toes to her hair. She was dressed in a sapphire blue dress that matched her eyes perfectly. The dress fell down an inch past her knees and the skirt was pleated, giving it a nice swish when she walked. It was v-necked and low enough to just barely hint at her cleavage, and she had paired it with a sapphire pendant and matching blue sandals. Her hair was free and flowing down her shoulders in waves, just as he liked it.

"You look like you," he smiled boyishly, tucking an errant lock behind her ear as she laughed.

"You are no help, you know that?" Elizabeth's eyes were glittering as she teased him. "I could be dressed in a burlap sack and you'd still say that."

Jason chuckled and wrapped his arm securely around her waist, escorting her into the restaurant. "I'm hoping you have some sort of clue as to what's going on tonight, because I'm completely in the dark."

She shrugged. "My parents just said for me and you to meet them at the Cellar at eight-thirty. They probably just wanted to have dinner together – you know, so my father could hassle you."

Her teasing didn't have the desired effect because Jason's attention was suddenly focused elsewhere. "If they wanted to have dinner with us, then why are Sonny and Brenda here?"

Elizabeth frowned as their friends approached them just as suspiciously. "What are you two doing here?"

"We were gonna ask you the same thing," Brenda replied warily, glancing at Sonny. The brunette wore a black dress about the same length as Elizabeth's with delicate, understated jewelry and Sonny was dressed in a casual suit, though he looked much more formal than Jason who had just come in a pressed shirt and his only pair of dress pants. "Sonny's mom told us to meet her and his dad here for dinner."

"We got the same message," Elizabeth informed her, looking questioningly up at Jason. "Coincidence?"

He shrugged. "Maybe."

"Let's just go in," Sonny suggested, glancing at his watch. "We'll find out sooner or later, I guess. You don't think…they planned this, do you?"

He and Jason only had time to exchange thoughtful glances before Elizabeth and Brenda snaked their arms through theirs and yanked them inside, eager to find out. They tugged their boyfriends down the flight of stairs to the main dining room of the Cellar and sure enough, there were their parents…all of them. And a whole bunch of other people.

"Surprise!"

"Congratulations!"

"Hey, it's the graduates!"

"Can we cut the cake now?"

Jason smirked at his little brother through the chorus of congratulations that flooded their way. He couldn't believe their parents had done this; it was so…unnecessary.

Elizabeth appeared to be having the same thoughts, but she wouldn't dream of hurting anyone's feelings. "Oh, you guys, thank you-"

Sonny and Brenda, the power couple when it came to public spotlights, were already way ahead of them, shaking hands and warmly accepting well wishes as they moved through the crowd to their parents. Elizabeth elbowed Jason with a chuckle and grabbed her grinning boyfriend's hand, pulling him in the same direction. Sometimes, those two were too much; but they certainly played the part of gracious and surprised honorees very well, taking the heat off her and Jason.

Alan and Jeff stood with Mike and Hayden as they motioned for the servers to wheel out a large sheet cake. Elizabeth recognized several of her classmates as well as her parents' friends from the hospital, along with an army of people she didn't know – people that most likely knew Sonny, Brenda or Jason somehow. The Cellar was packed tight and it looked like the entire town had been invited. She had to give her parents and their friends credit for organizing such a bash, and keeping quiet about it above all else.

"Here it is," Alan grinned, motioning his son and Elizabeth forward as Sonny and Brenda joined them. "Take a look at that!"

There, sitting atop the covered cart, was a large sheet cake bearing the picture of the four of them taken on the day of their graduation.

* * *

"_Hey, there, Mister, put a fence around your sister; it's the – huh! – Boy's Night Out!"_

"Girl's Night Out," Brenda corrected, throwing her duffel bag into the back of Sydney's minivan. "This has nothing to do with the boys, Beth – it's all about us girls."

"Well, I know, but that's not the song," Elizabeth replied witheringly as she closed the snap on the cooler that they had just piled juice and other supplies into before motioning for Jason to put it in the van with everything else. "Now I have to start all over. _Hey there, Mister, put a fence around your sister; it's the Boys Night Out!"_

"Why do you even need one of these?" Sonny huffed as he ruffled through Brenda's duffel bag and pulled out a pack of post-its. "Who brings post-its on a road trip?"

"That's for Beth," his girlfriend snipped, brushing his fingers away from her bag and zipping it up. "She's going to write her number on them and give 'em out to all the hot guys we meet at the beach."

"Ha, ha," Jason jeered as he finally loaded the cooler into the back of the van. "You're a riot, Brenda."

She grinned cheekily back at him, smirking when Elizabeth laughed and kissed his cheek reassuringly. "What? Who doesn't prefer a beach boy to a living block of concrete? It's a no-brainer if you ask me."

"Don't listen to her," Elizabeth ordered with a smile, wagging her finger at her best friend. Jason snorted and grabbed her blue duffel, arranging it carefully with the others. "She just likes to cause trouble."

"Who, me? I'm an angel," Brenda grinned, sticking her hands into the back pockets of her khaki shorts. "What say you, girls? Are we ready to hit the road?"

"We're ready," Carol grinned, fishing her keys out of her purse. "Syd and I are driving, right? Who's going with me?"

"All I know is the luggage is going with me," Sydney announced, popping out of her garage with a water bottle and her keys. "So I think that _you_ better follow _me,_ Carol – 'cause if we do it the other way around, you'll lose me and then half of this group will be without bikinis. And that's just a tragedy."

"Indeed," Elizabeth agreed heartily, pulling open the door to Sydney's van. "Especially since I just bought a brand new one."

"Ooh, that reminds me – we should grab more sunscreen!" Brenda slipped her arm in through Sonny's and herded him off to the garage to help her search while Jason slipped up behind Elizabeth.

"New bikini, huh?" he growled, wrapping his arms around her waist as she bent to clear some room in the backseat of the van. "How come I wasn't told of this?"

The brunette grinned cheekily and turned in his arms, brushing her lips teasingly against his. "I'll wear it for you – _later_."

He groaned low in his throat when she pressed a sweet kiss to his lips and moved away to make sure everything else was in order. Brenda appeared with the sunscreen and tossed it into the back of the van.

"Are we set?" Elizabeth wanted to know. "Does everyone have enough gas money? Money for tolls? Everyone's phone is working, right?"

"We're good to go," Emily announced, already heading for Carol's car with Felicia. "We three will go with Carol and you guys ride with Syd, okay? We're gonna stop at the Oasis at the halfway mark for food, remember? We'll see you then."

"Brenda and I are going to take Pat," Elizabeth clarified, motioning to Brenda's silver Porsche. "We've got the towels and volleyballs and all the beach stuff in the back already, so we're set. Jenny and Lexi are the ones going in the van."

"Come on, gals," Sydney ordered, pulling open the drivers' side door. "Get in. Say goodbye to the men and let's hit the road."

Brenda and Elizabeth dutifully kissed their boyfriends, who were very reluctant to let them out of their arms, and waved before running to their car. And then they were off – eight girls ready to embark on their road trip that would eventually lead to the shores of the Atlantic ocean.

* * *

"God, we should have done this a long time ago," Carol sighed, stretching out lazily under the sun and adjusting her shades. A group of college boys in swimming trunks were playing volleyball right in front of her, and she couldn't say she minded the view. The others were stretched out nearby, enjoying the sun and working on their tan. Except for Elizabeth, of course, who didn't tan very well and was more concerned with turning as red as a lobster than a healthy golden brown.

"I know what you mean," Brenda sighed happily. This was their second day at the beach and everything was going perfectly. They woke when they want to, ate what they wanted to and when they wanted to, and basically did nothing all day but talk about girlie stuff while they watched half-naked hot guys run around in swim trunks. It was heaven.

"Ooh, look at that one," Carol purred, taking off her shades so she could get a better look at one of the blonde volleyball players. "Hot damn."

Elizabeth peered in the same direction and upon spotting the young man, rolled her eyes at Carol. Personally, she thought Jason was hotter – but then again, she was just a wee bit biased. Next to her, Carol was praying under her breath. "Please, please, _please_ let them accidentally hit the ball over here."

Elizabeth was about to laugh and tell her to get real when the exact thing Carol was hoping for happened – a spike went wrong and the volleyball bounced toward them. Grinning like the cat that ate the canary, the blonde leisurely rolled up to a sitting position, adjusted her bikini solely for the viewing pleasure of the volleyball players, and stood smoothly. Calmly, she picked up the ball, threw it up lightly in the air, and hit it back to them with a swift thrust of her coupled wrists, thus securing for herself an invitation to join the game.

Tossing the rest of the girls a wink over her shoulder, Carol threw her shades down and trotted over to the boys when they asked her to play. Brenda was watching the scene with a smirk and could only shake her head. "Oh, to be free…"

Her best friend laughed. "Oh, come on, Bren, you don't mean that."

"Okay, fine, maybe not…but still."

"You just miss Sonny," Elizabeth declared. "If he were here, you wouldn't even notice those other boys."

"You seem very secure in my relationship with him," Brenda giggled. "It's that perverse need of yours to see everything paired off forever."

Next to her, Sydney laughed. "Oh, that again? Yeah, I have to go with Brenda on this one." There was a brief, awkward pause as Sydney fingered the sand and glanced hesitantly at her friends. "I told you guys I broke up with Charlie, right?"

Elizabeth snapped to attention. "What? No, you did _not_ tell us! When? Why?"

Brenda rolled her eyes and motioned for Sydney to continue. "Don't pay any attention to Cupid over there. What happened, Syd?"

"Well, I thought about it realistically," the other brunette replied as the girls scooted closer. "I mean, I'm going to college in the fall and he's going to be a senior. I'm going to be halfway across the country – in Chicago – and he'll be here. It's just not going to work and to be honest, I don't think I want to put that much effort into making it work. I mean, it's not like I was in love with him or anything. Time to cut things off."

Brenda was nodding sympathetically, in total agreement, as Elizabeth struggled to keep her mouth shut. "Yeah, long-distance relationships can be scary. Personally, I'm just so glad that me and Sonny are going to the same school and won't have to worry about that. What a load off my mind."

"Yeah, consider yourself lucky," Felicia nodded. "Long-distance relationships at our age are just doomed to failure, in my opinion. I tried that once – I met this great guy when I was visiting my aunt in Texas, and we tried to keep it going but it was just ridiculous. I should have actually ended it quicker – then I wouldn't have been nearly as depressed as I was since I waited."

"That's exactly what Charlie said," Sydney burst out, surprised. "We had this same conversation when we broke up, and he said the same thing; that it was better to do it sooner rather than later. It's amazing how the guys actually think just like we do when it comes to this stuff."

The conversation continued around her, but Elizabeth was stuck on the last comment about Sydney's _ex_-boyfriend. Did he actually feel the same way Sydney did or was he just saying it to avoid looking like the love-sick puppy in the whole situation? Did guys really feel the same way about long-distance relationships? More importantly – did _her_ guy think so?

* * *

"Got that cute boy's number," Carol gloated as she returned to their hotel room to shower for dinner. "Told you I would and I did!"

"Bravo, Carol," Elizabeth chuckled, rolling her eyes. "This must be a proud day for you and your family."

"Ha, ha – you just wish Jason was around. That's the problem," Carol replied, pulling her blonde hair into a ponytail. "If he was, you two would be glued at the mouth. Yuck. I'm sorry," she added defensively when the brunette glared at her. "But it just looks gross when he kisses you – Beth, you look like you're freaking twelve, for Christ's sake!"

"Can it, you two," Brenda commanded as she emerged from her room. "We're going to go eat because I am _starving_, and there is no way in Hell that those little old ladies are going to finish up all the salmon at the buffet, so let's-"

Just then, the shrill tune of her cell phone interrupted her, and while Brenda pulled it out of her purse, Carol quickly ducked into her room for a quick shower. Sydney and Felicia appeared and milled around nearby as they waited for the others, and Elizabeth was about to yell out for the girls to hurry it up when Brenda clicked off her phone and looked up at her with dead brown eyes.

The brunette frowned as she looked at her best friend, who could only stare back. "Bren? What's wrong? What happened?"

"It's my mom." The words were so quiet that they were almost lost on the soft summer breeze. The girls quieted down instantly and stared back at her. "She – that was my dad. He said she…she was brought to the hospital. It's the headaches again."

Elizabeth's eyes widened with a gasp, and her mind raced with the new information. Her best friend was in near tears and beginning to panic, and she had to distract her before she hyperventilated altogether.

"Okay, okay," she got out, wrapping her arm around Brenda's waist. "Don't worry, we'll figure this out. This is what we'll do," Elizabeth told the other girls who stood by nervously. "Bren and I are gonna take off – Syd, there's room in the van for the beach junk we brought along, right? You're gonna help us load that in the van, we'll grab our bags, and then we're heading home."

"Got it," Sydney nodded, already reaching for her keys and motioning to the other girls. "Okay, let's unpack."

"And I'm driving," Elizabeth added, grabbing the keys from Brenda's hand. She latched onto the taller brunette's elbow and steered her toward the parking lot. "It's gonna be fine, Bren."

* * *

"Girls." Hayden Barrett wore a relieved smile as he wearily walked over to where Elizabeth and Brenda sat in the waiting room of General Hospital. He wore a formal business suit, but the jacket was open, the tie was lost somewhere, and his shirt was untucked and flapping with each step. "There you are."

"How is she, Daddy?" Brenda's chocolate eyes were alight with worry, but her father soothed her by taking her small hands in his.

"She's fine," he replied, tucking her hair behind her ear. "She just woke up and is doing fine, and the doctors are saying that it's going to be fine. They want to keep her for observation a little longer, but we can definitely take her home tomorrow."

"Oh, thank God," the brunette muttered, lifting one hand to her forehead as she tried to calm herself down. "Oh, good. Can I see her?"

"Right away," Hayden assured her as he took her hand. His dark eyes fell on Elizabeth and the corner of his mouth curved upwards. "Thank you for being here, Elizabeth. I appreciate it."

"Thanks, Beth," Brenda agreed, suddenly remembering her best friend was with her and hadn't left her side since they arrived. "For driving home, for being here, for everything."

"Don't mention it," she replied with a small smile. "Do you two need anything else? Can I do-"

"We're fine," Hayden assured her with a smile. "You've done so much already – please, don't worry. Everything's going to be fine here."

"Take the car, Beth," Brenda added, squeezing her father's hand. "I don't want you to be stuck here – I'll pick it up from your house later."

"I'll stop by tomorrow," Hayden agreed. "Or I'll send someone to get it. Please, go home, eat, rest – you must be exhausted from the drive. Go, go, and thank you."

Nodding, Elizabeth leaned in to give her best friend a hug. Brenda hugged her back tightly and stepped away with a brave smile, waving her toward the elevators. With one last look behind her, she waved at her best friend before rushing with her father to the nearby hospital room.

* * *

"Alan, it's too hot for him to be mowing the lawn. Tell him to do it later."

Alan Quartermaine frowned stubbornly at the medical journal he held in his hand. "If Jason had mowed the lawn when I told him to, then he wouldn't have this problem. Let him finish. He's been putting it off for a week."

Monica sighed as she looked out the window at her oldest son. He wore black track shorts and old sneakers and was sweating under the harsh, bright sun. She was about to insist on bringing him back when a loud squeal of rubber tires in the driveway interrupted her. "Who on earth could that be?"

Alan was wondering the same thing and left the room to peer out the front door. "Monica, who do we know that owns a silver Porsche?"

"Dr. Lindstrom – drives it to work every day. What's _he_ doing here?"

"No, not a man – a woman. What woman owns a silver Porsche?"

Monica's golden brows furrowed as she thought. "Hayden bought Brenda one of those for her sixteenth birthday, I think – but what is _Brenda_ doing here? She and Jason don't get along at all."

"Ah, not Brenda," Alan replied, pulling his head back inside. "It's Elizabeth – she must be driving Brenda's car. Kids these days – she's not insured on that vehicle! What if something were to happen? It would be one big mess, that's what would happen."

"What's Elizabeth doing home already? The girls just left for their road trip to the seaside three days ago."

Alan shrugged and motioned that Elizabeth was heading straight to the backyard. Curious now, both parents headed back into the same room they were in before to see what was going on. Outside, Elizabeth was making a beeline straight toward an oblivious Jason as he strained over the lawnmower in the bright sunlight. Her hips moved in a strict, hard rhythm and her little hands were curled into fists and even though Alan and Monica were relatively far away, they could easily tell that the little brunette was angry.

"What on earth did that boy do now?" Monica muttered aloud, causing Alan to shrug.

Sensing an intruder, Jason looked up from his task expecting to see his pesky little brother and instead found his girlfriend – and boy, did she look fired up. He shut off the lawnmower and wiped the sweat away from his forehead, squinting at her with confusion. She didn't take any pity on his clueless state and instead just marched right over, placed her tiny hands on his sweaty chest, and shoved with all her might.

"Elizabeth!" He stumbled back a step and just stared at her. "What-"

"Damn it, Jason Morgan!" The brunette's sapphire eyes were blazing as she lifted one finger, pointing it at him in such a threatening way that he actually gulped. "We're going to get a couple things straight right now!"

Alan and Monica were watching the scene with the same mixture of disbelief and confusion as their son, and they both wished they could actually hear what was being said.

"I don't care what the other people are doing," she hissed as if he had any sort of clue about this whole conversation in general. "I don't care if some people don't want to be paired up – even though, yes, damn it, everything should be paired up! Everything should always be paired up! Cats and dogs, babies and plants, salt and pepper, sofas and armchairs – that's just how the world works! But fine, fine, if not everyone feels that way, I can deal with it!"

Yeah, he had absolutely no idea what was going on.

"But you better get one thing through your thick skull, Morgan." She stepped closer, poking him in the chest now with that scary-looking index finger. "I do _not_ want to break up just because you're going to Boston and I'm going to Columbia. You got that?" In her impassioned tirade, Elizabeth didn't notice the way his eyes widened; he had never once thought of breaking up because of that. "I don't care if my phone bill costs more than a semester's tuition – I'm not going to call this off just because-"

Jason had heard enough and reached out to wrap one hand behind her neck. The next thing she knew, he was crushing his mouth to hers, effectively squashing any further arguments. His other arm snaked around her waist to pull her closer but Elizabeth came willingly, pressing up against his hard, sweaty chest as he ravaged her mouth. His tongue thrust past her lips without permission and he engaged hers in a clashing duel. By the time he pulled away, they were both gasping for breath.

"You done with your big scary speech?"

Alan and Monica watched Elizabeth nod at something their son must have said, still entirely confused regarding the peculiar communication methods of teenagers.

"Good," Jason murmured as he leaned in once more, brushing his lips against hers gently. "Because I remember – no bailing."


	32. Bed of Roses

**Note: **There is a time and a place for graphic sexual content. This is neither. I refuse to put any hard-core smut into this story despite having conquered the fear of writing it; it doesn't fit and I don't think that I would want it to. I shall attempt to do this as tastefully as possible. There really isn't much left to this story, and I'm exceedingly happy and grateful seeing as how whenever I look at it, all I see are the glaring mistakes.

* * *

**Bed of Roses (PG-13)**

_This takes place over the course of the summer…_

"Ooh, look at this!"

Elizabeth looked over at what Brenda held in her hands and rolled her eyes. "Brenda, I hardly doubt that you'll need black and white tweed boots for college."

"So?" the brunette pouted, stroking the leather clasp and resenting her friend's rational comment. "You never know – maybe I will."

"The only thing those can come in handy for is changing a flat tire," Elizabeth groused, reaching into her purse for some breath mints. "And you've already got plenty of stilettos that'll do the trick."

Brenda gaped at her friend and set the shoes down, following her as she walked slowly away from the brightly lit shoe department at Wydhams. "What? What's this about changing tires?"

The little brunette shrugged nonchalantly. "Jason showed me how to change a flat tire using a pair of stiletto heels because he knows that I'll probably never have the proper tools in the trunk. He did try to get me some – he said he'd find me pink ones if I wanted – but I wouldn't let him."

"So he showed you how to change a freaking flat tire with one of your shoes."

"Yup."

"That boy's got way too much free time on his hands."

Elizabeth shouldered her friend, grinning, and just shook her head as the taller brunette stumbled atop her high-heeled sandals. "He's just trying to help – he knows that there's a chance I'll take my car to Columbia and he wants me to be prepared in case I run into trouble. I also know how to change my oil, attach and remove snow tires-"

Brenda just rolled her eyes. "You know, you're supposed to pay people to do things like that."

"Why pay someone to do it when I know how to?" Elizabeth replied reasonably.

Her best friend just shook her head. "That boy should be a mechanic or something. Not that I'd trust him with Pat, though."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and grabbed her friend's arm. "Come on – summer's winding down and we still haven't done anything. Let's go get what we need."

* * *

"I think we definitely need a pair of leather pants."

"Brenda-"

"A pair of tight leather pants, maybe a lacy bustier-"

"_Brenda-_"

"Seriously!" The brunette's chocolate eyes sparkled mischievously as she turned them on her best friend. "Can you even imagine what Jason would do if he saw you in this get-up?"

"BRENDA!"

The cashier – a tall brunette with multiple body piercings and very dark, Gothic makeup – smirked at the two girls and Elizabeth could only clap her hand to her forehead. Brenda had dragged her out of Wyndham's, claiming that they would be able to get much more accomplished at the mall, and had promptly pulled her into Hot Topic where she found t-shirts promoting all sorts of obscure bands and some questionable clothing that looked like it belonged in a shady S&M shop.

"Oh, come on, Beth, you can't expect to come to the Hot Topic with me and not hear a couple sex jokes," her best friend chided. "Now, seriously – should I have Marilyn Manson over there wrap up this bustier for you or what?"

Elizabeth couldn't help but chuckle as she buried her face in her hands. "No."

"You'd look great in it-"

"_No_."

"And just _think _of what Jason would do to you-"

"NO!"

By this time, Brenda was nearly falling over from laughing so hard. Clamping a hand over her mouth to contain the giggles that spilled out, she managed to hang up the bustier and move on. "Okay, so what do we need?"

"School supplies, towels, bed sheets, lamps, shower kits, sweaters, bathrobes – nothing that can be found here."

But Brenda was barely listening. "Ooh! A Poison Ivy sleeper tank! It's perfect! That settles it – I'm so getting this." She tossed it over her arm and continued to ruffle through the long tank tops. "Hey! I found a Harlequin tank for you – it's so cute! You have to get it – we'll be all Batman-ish at night. It'll be fabulous."

Elizabeth wanted to roll her eyes, but Brenda made a point – Batman _did_ rule, and Harlequin _was_ her favorite villainess. "Fine. We're done here. Let's go."

"Hair thingies," Brenda announced, grabbing a bucket of clamps and bringing them over to her. "We can never have enough hair thingies."

"You know, pencils work just as well," Elizabeth pointed out, absently running a hand over her ponytail.

"Yeah, for losers, maybe," Brenda scoffed, pulling out a handful of multicolored alligator clamps. "Grab a bunch – they come in handy."

"Okay, so now can we-"

"Wait – ooh, what have we here?" Brenda was peering wickedly at her from above a little shelf and despite her better judgment, Elizabeth followed her around it to see what she was looking at. "Well, well, well, think you need to stock up, Bethie?"

The brunette gaped down at the merchandise. Spread out before her was the largest collection of black, Gothic-style underwear she had ever seen. More bustiers, nighties, slips, negligees, boy shorts, hot shorts, panties, thongs – most with creative little phrases or pictures on them. "Holy crap."

Brenda elbowed her roughly, fingering a pair of lacy black boyshirts with pink lace trim. "Might I point out that these are a real crowd-pleaser?"

Elizabeth stifled a groan. "Can it, Bren – I don't want to hear about what gets Sonny off."

Her best friend burst out laughing and the cashier who was stocking a nearby shelf and had managed to hear the tail end of the remark also chuckled. "Dirty mouth, girlie. Hey! How about a whip? Think you might need any of these in the near future?"

Elizabeth let out a guffaw as she took it from her friend's hand. "Jesus, what could you do with this that wouldn't hurt?"

The cashier, whose name tag did indeed read Marilyn as Brenda had noticed earlier, slid her an amused glance. "Sometimes the pain is worth it."

Brenda giggled behind her palm, watching as the tips of Elizabeth's ears pinkened. "So, Marilyn, any recommendations for my prudish friend?"

Elizabeth shoved her shoulder, unable to keep from laughing herself, as Marilyn grinned. "Well," she started, tapping her chin thoughtfully as she looked at Elizabeth. "You don't seem like you're into the kinky stuff, so don't even set foot behind that beaded curtain."

"Good to know," Brenda muttered, intrigued and already making a mental note to check out the forbidden lair.

"I say go with the lacy bustier or the boy shorts and matching bra," Marilyn recommended. "But, hey, it's all good."

Elizabeth just shook her head as the girl resumed stocking the shelves and turned to Brenda. "All right, Jezebel, you've succeeded in corrupting me today, so can we please go get what we really need-"

"Hey! The Cure!" Her best friend was now running over to the massive t-shirt display on the wall. "Oh, my god, Beth – they have _everything_! T-shirts galore! Hey, check it out – The Cure, the Clash, The Doors, Dashboard Confessional, Green Day, Flogging Molly – god, I hate that band – and My Chemical Romance…Chili Peppers! They've got Chili Peppers! Oh, that settles it – I'm buying all of these."

Elizabeth was about to protest the fact that they really didn't need to be here – nothing they needed for college was to be found in this little shop – until she saw a black t-shirt mounted on the wall near the top corner. Queen: A Night at the Opera. A small smile ran across her lips as she reached for an appropriately sized shirt. Yup, this was something she would most definitely need for school.

* * *

"Brenda! Wake up!"

"Goomph."

"Save the sweet talk, sister – move it!"

"Mphththphb."

"Same to you, sunshine. Get up!" Huffing, Elizabeth reached for the covers and tugged at them. "Come on – it's two o'clock in the afternoon and you've slept enough. We have to go shopping! School starts in like, a month and a half, and we have nothing."

"We have stuff…"

"We have nothing," Elizabeth corrected, pulling the covers entirely off her best friend's body and then pulling up the shade for a double whammy. Brenda moaned when the afternoon sunshine hit her eyes and curled into a ball. "And why do we have nothing? Because you keep dragging me off to buy shoes or belts or S&M gear – and what about that time we spent two hours in the pet store, Bren? What could we possibly need for NYU or Columbia that could be found at a pet store?"

"Gloonk."

"How eloquent – thank you for that, Alfred Lord Tennyson. Now get up! I'm not going shopping by myself and since we have less than two months left, I'm starting to panic a little."

"Fine," Brenda huffed, sliding her legs off the edge of the bed. "I'll go if it'll make you shut up."

"Fabulous. Now move your butt."

Glaring at the back of her best friend's head resentfully, Brenda slid out of bed and shuffled toward the bathroom, leaving Elizabeth to grab her jeans and one of the band t-shirts she had bought the last time they went shopping.

Elizabeth sighed when she heard the water running and sat back on Brenda's beanbag chair. She knew that she was being somewhat of a Nazi as far as back-to-school shopping was concerned, but it really wasn't fair to blame it all on Brenda. Her own attempt at getting the right supplies had been half-assed at best. It seemed that despite what she told herself, she still hadn't completely come to terms with the idea of leaving home.

* * *

"Okay, so we got, like, a bazillion folders, right?"

"Right."

"So….does that mean we can treat ourselves and go underwear shopping? I mean, we're going to need underwear at school, after all – lots and lots of underwear. Tons, since we'll have to wash our own laundry."

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile and shake her head. "Fine, Bren, let's go underwear shopping."

"Hooray!" Practically skipping with glee, Brenda grabbed her elbow and made a beeline straight for the shop that she had already had her eye on. It was done up in pink – pink trim, pink carpeting, pink pillows randomly thrown around, pink walls, pink tables, pink freaking everything – and smelled very flowery, as all underwear shops did.

They dropped their bags at the door and walked into the store to shop. Brenda knew the little shop like the back of her hand and navigated with determined ease; Elizabeth, on the other hand, merely wandered and browsed. It wasn't the first time this summer that she had found herself in a random undergarments' shop and by this time, she had pretty much picked out the types of styles she liked and knew she'd feel comfortable in.

She just had yet to purchase a specific item.

There were too many things to choose from, even from her already selected stash. Too many styles, too many forms, too many textures, too many colors. And besides the fact that she frequently tarried in indecision, there was also a symbolic importance of purchasing something that made her think twice. For the first time, she wasn't shopping for just herself; she was shopping for someone else, too.

It was a thought that had been plaguing her for a while now and it hit her once more as she flipped through the nightgowns and pajamas. She knew that few of her friends treated the situation with the same gravity and significance that she did – but she knew that most of them said that they wished now that they would have waited.

Her fingers caught on a pair of pale pink silk boxers and Elizabeth chewed her lip thoughtfully, rubbing the material between her thumb and forefinger.

She was done waiting.

* * *

"We're such dorks." Brenda Barrett popped another cheese-covered tortilla chip into her mouth and reached for her iced tea. The brunette's bare feet – clean bare feet, she had assured her friend – were propped up on the edge of the counter, something she never would have attempted had any of the Webbers been home. But Jeff and Caroline were away at a conference in New York City and Steve and Audrey were visiting friends up in Maine and no doubt having their fill of the butter pecan ice cream they loved so much.

And so it was just her and Elizabeth, alone in the large house. They had gone on sporadic shopping sprees for the past two weeks but never really accomplished much of anything. So far, all they had were about seven folders apiece, a handful of hair accessories, a few really cool pairs of boots, two pairs of ripped and stonewashed denim jeans that looked like they had barely survived a trip through a Freddy-Krueger-esque washing machine, a lifetime supply of underwear, and a hell of a lot of band t-shirts.

"We still have absolutely nothing," Brenda continued, licking a glob of cheese off her index finger. "And do we care? Oh, no, not us!"

"There's still time," Elizabeth rationalized half-heartedly. "Want me to pop some popcorn?"

"Ooh, yeah," Brenda nodded. "I'll get out the ice cream and let it thaw for a minute while we eat. Man, good lunch."

"No kidding."

"Do you wanna hear something sick?"

Elizabeth eyed her best friend as she stuck a bag of popcorn into the microwave. "Maybe."

"The guys are totally done with their shopping."

Her jaw dropped. "No way."

"Oh, yeah," Brenda insisted. "They've got their notebooks, filler paper, binders, folders, pens, clothes, robes, shower stuff, and everything else they'll ever need."

"Losers."

"I know. I hate them, too."

"Boys have it so easy."

"Don't they?" Brenda reached eagerly for the popcorn as Elizabeth set the bowl on the counter between them. "We girls get jipped every time."

"Well, I figure we can still do it if we get our act together," the shorter brunette announced, stuffing a handful of popcorn into her mouth. "By the way, have you started packing yet?"

Brenda snorted. "What, are you kidding? Have you?"

"Yeah, maybe in another dimension. I got nothin'."

"We're such dorks."

* * *

Elizabeth tucked her books away on her bookshelf, arranging them so they wouldn't topple over. After letting them lie around on the floor and various other surfaces in her room for the past few months, it was time to put them away. And put them away she did. She also straightened out her dresser and put all the random knick-knacks away, threw her clothes into the closet and shut the door securely, dusted off the furniture, and even vacuumed.

Being so busy at school for the past few months had spoiled her tremendously and her parents only enabled her. She had gone for a very long time without cleaning her room and in retrospect, she didn't altogether know how she managed to live in it herself.

But that was all different now. The room was swept and dusted, vacuumed and cleaned – or at least, it gave off the somewhat deceptive guise of cleanliness.

Butterflies danced in her stomach as she fixed the edge of her bedspread for the millionth time. She didn't know if feeling slightly nauseous with excitement was a normal feeling, but she certainly hoped so. At least she wasn't nervous – no, not anymore. The excitement and anticipation, along with the conviction that she was indeed ready, overshadowed the twinge of nervousness. Besides, there was really nothing at all to fear.

The house was silent as she grabbed her towel and shuffled out into the hallway in the direction of the bathroom. It may be empty now, she mused as she walked toward the shower, but it wouldn't be for long.

Jason shifted his car into park and killed the engine before sliding out and locking the door behind him. The nighttime breeze was cool against his rough cheeks as he ambled up the driveway to Elizabeth's house. He knew her parents were away and the structure looked very big and dark. Thinking better of ringing the doorbell when he saw the light on in her bedroom, Jason walked around to the side of the house and climbed the trellis up to her second-story room. It was easy to get on the lightly sloped roof and before long, he was crouching by her open window.

"Hey."

She was sitting at her desk, writing something in the glow of the lamp, and looked up at the sound of his voice. A smile instantly claimed her lips and she waved for him to come in.

Shifting his weight, Jason slid one leg over the windowsill and then crawled in through her window. Her large bed separated them and he looked around as if he were standing in her bedroom for the first time. It was a lot….cleaner than it was last time he had been in it. Granted, they had both been by her bookshelf, tossing books over her shoulder as they searched for her copy of _No Exit_ to use for their paper, but still. She had also moved her beanbag chair over to the other corner since then, and the pictures on her wall had changed again.

"Hey, yourself," she smiled back, hurriedly trying to finish whatever she was working on. It was most likely a list; Elizabeth and Sonny were very alike in the fact that they both worked best with detailed lists. "Come in, come in. You hungry? Thirsty?"

"I'm good," he nodded. She had called him earlier, asking him to come over because she had a couple things she needed to return to him and although he hadn't understood the urgency of the request, he had agreed. "What are you working on?"

"A list," she answered, not surprising him at all. "I have so many things that have to get done that I thought I'd better write 'em down before I forget. Speaking of which, I have a bunch of things that belong to you that you need back." Setting her pen down, Elizabeth got up from her desk and moved toward her closet.

Jason gaped at her back, blinking rapidly to make sure he wasn't just seeing things. Elizabeth was dressed in a pair of pale pink boxers and a matching camisole with white trim, and her hair was down and curly. Her feet were bare save the silver toe ring she sometimes wore, and her nails were clean and unpolished. He had thought she was wearing a silky-looking tank top or something with her jeans or pants underneath, but it was when she stood that he actually got a good look.

She turned back to him and wasn't the slightest bit fazed by how he was staring at her. "Here." She extended a couple items to him which Jason accepted numbly. "Your Queen CD and your Godfather DVDs. I didn't really like the third one that much, but those were nine hours well spent. I meant to return them to you earlier since they're your favorites, but I just totally forgot."

"It's okay," he managed to get out, scolding himself for looking somewhere other than her eyes when he spoke to her. Damnation. "Uh…anything else?"

He was hoping there wouldn't be anything else so that he could get the hell out of her bedroom. It was just cruel for her to be wearing that and expect him to retain a grip on his self-control. Cruel.

But he was out of luck. "Yeah, actually, there is," the little brunette smiled as she walked over to her dresser. She crouched down on her heels, letting him catch a glimpse of those silk boxers cupping her bottom like a lover, and pulled open the last drawer. She withdrew a box and stood up, smiling as she walked back and extended it toward him. "This is for you."

He quirked a brow at her and set the CDs and DVDs on a nearby chair before reaching for the box. There was no ribbon or tape and he opened it easily. Folded up inside was a black t-shirt bearing the Queen logo.

"I thought you might like it," she shrugged. "I mean, I know it's not a totally original gift or anything, but I saw it and thought you might…I don't know, like it."

"I do like it," he smiled at her, lifting it out of the box and fingering the logo. "And you know that I can never have enough t-shirts."

She giggled and helped him fold it back up. "Good. I'm glad."

Against his better judgment, Jason set the box down on the chair with his other belongings and leaned in for a kiss. His arm snaked around her waist, pulling her close but not _too_ close, and his fingers delved into her silky chocolate curls. Elizabeth responded beautifully to him, opening up like a wilting flower receiving the kiss of an early morning sun. She sighed into his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck, molding her soft body to his.

Jason tensed but couldn't for the life of him seem to pull back. Instead, he cupped the back of her neck and angled her head, using his grip to get better leverage. He slanted his mouth over hers, kissing her greedily, and the little brunette mewed into his mouth. Her arms moved down to his back and she rubbed long, broad strokes up and down his spine through the fabric of his blue cotton t-shirt. Growling under his breath, Jason nipped her plush bottom lip. She kissed him back just as hard and slowly backed up one step, then another, until Jason felt himself being pulled across the carpet.

Abruptly breaking his mouth away from hers, he forced his dark, stormy eyes open and stared into Elizabeth's equally passionate ones. "Elizabeth."

She let out a low, soft moan and pulled him down for another kiss. Their lips met, mingled, and by the time he had the presence of mind to pull back, they were both gasping for air.

"Elizabeth, tell me to leave."

A smirk made her lips twitch and the brunette speared her fingers through his blonde hair, quirking one brow defiantly at him before brushing her lips over his. Jason's hands fell to the narrow pinch of her waist and his thumb reached under the cool silk to brush against her warm skin. Before he could do anything to stop himself, his other fingers were following suit. Elizabeth's lips moved insistently over his and she protested softly when he broke for air once more.

"E-Elizabeth, please, tell me to go."

Those curly raven lashes fluttered, revealing pools of cobalt blue underneath, and then Elizabeth's soft words fluttered over his lips. "Don't go, Jason."

The sweet command was all it took for Jason's control to crack. Elizabeth's small hands framed his face as she kissed him deeply, shifting in his arms and sending his hands under the silk of her camisole. Her own fingers blazed a smooth path down his neck and chest to the waistband of his blue jeans, and he could feel her gently tug the fabric out of his pants.

His breathing was deep and ragged as his rough palms explored the creamy expanse of skin hidden under the pink silk. Blunt fingertips delved under the waistband of her silk boxers before he tugged her toward him, grunting when her soft body crashed against his hard one.

"If you want me to stop, you've got to tell me," he whispered when her fingers first danced beneath his shirt, exploring the carefully sculpted muscles that quivered from her touch. "You've got to tell me, Elizabeth."

She only kissed him deeply in response to that, and Jason could feel her small hands settle on his waist and begin to urge him to follow her toward the bed. They stumbled back awkwardly, too taken with each other to care for being graceful.

He tried to avoid crashing down on top of her when her knees hit the edge of her bed, sending her backwards onto the soft mattress, and failed. But Elizabeth didn't mind. She only pulled him closer, wrapping one leg around the back of his thigh to keep him nestled in place. Jason's hands roamed over her body, sending blazing trails of fire racing through her limbs with the path of his rough palms and fingers.

She explored his body with curiosity and wonderment, but Jason could sense the timidity in some of her touches. Pulling back just enough to gaze into her sapphire orbs, Jason somehow managed to force out a ragged whisper. "We don't have to do this, Elizabeth." She huffed and rolled her eyes, but he cut her off. "I…I don't want to scare you again."

Those enchanting blue eyes softened and she gently stroked the hair at his temple. "You didn't scare me before," she informed him quietly. "The…situation scared me. But you never did, Jason."

With that, she slid her hand smoothly into place around the back of his neck and hesitantly tugged him forward. He complied willingly and their mouths mated with ease. His hands continued to mold to her soft flesh and he guided hers as well, encouraging her to touch him, to feel him move under her palms. Elizabeth's sighs and murmurs were music to his ears and Jason forced himself to move slowly, wanting her to enjoy this as much as possible. He undressed her adoringly, pressing light kisses to every inch of flesh exposed. This time when their mouths met again, the kiss was hungrier; tongues dueled fiercely, teeth clashed with blatant need.

She was restless beneath him and they both knew that the moment was upon them. Jason moved slowly, hesitantly, letting her body adjust to him and forcing himself to remain still until she stroked his cheek, letting him know that she was okay. Their bodies began to move together, slowly at first but faster as they accepted their rhythm, and the moonlight streamed into her darkened bedroom as Jason and Elizabeth found a surge of love and faith.


	33. Baby, Baby, It's a Wild World

**Note: **This is the last chapter. PLEASE read the **Author's Note** at the bottom.

**LRS #34: Baby, Baby, It's A Wild World**

_This takes place several weeks later._

"Jason, get up."

"Mmphth."

"Jason…"

"No."

"Jason, get up off this bed."

"_No."_

A brief pause.

"Okay, how about you just get off _me_?"

Another brief pause.

"No."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes with an exaggerated sigh and began to squirm under him in an effort to free herself from his strong grip. Jason moved with her as she writhed, refusing to give an inch. Currently, the two of them were tangled up in his sheets as they lay on his bed with the afternoon sun streaming in through the blinds. Jason's parents were at work and little AJ was out with his friends, which left the house completely empty. And if they hadn't been exhausted from Sonny's all night party the evening before, they probably would have been up for enjoying it a bit more than they did.

"Dammit, Jason!"

His rusty chuckles were lost in the warm cavern of her neck where he was currently hiding his face. Jason's strong, broad form was crushing Elizabeth to the mattress underneath him, but he knew she didn't mind – she always told him that she liked it when he held her like that.

Her small body squirmed underneath him and Jason could feel his blood rush south when her naked thigh rasped against his side, curling around his leg. "Jason, get off."

A wicked grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. "That can be arranged."

Try as she might, Elizabeth was unable to contain her giggles. "You have a one-track mind, you know that?"

His warm, soft lips pressed a tender kiss to her temple before moving down to flirt with the delicate shell of her ear. "I can't help it."

"Jason…"

"Five more minutes," he got out, letting his lips trail down her neck in an attempt to remind her of what he could accomplish in that short amount of time. She resisted for a moment until he found the one spot under her ear that drove her wild. Those small hands of hers wrapped around his neck, raking through the soft hair at his nape, as one of Jason's palms skirted her side. Elizabeth moaned softly when his rough fingers trailed over the smooth skin low over her belly before venturing lower.

"Five more minutes," she agreed breathlessly, gripping his shoulders when she felt the light pressure of him against her stomach.

Jason's mouth captured hers fiercely and he probed her thoroughly, never ceasing his ministrations at her center. Their tongues dueled sensually, teeth clashed with primitive need, and it wasn't until Elizabeth mewed into his mouth that Jason pulled back for a quick gasp of air.

"Better make that ten."

* * *

"I can't believe we're finally done." Brenda Barrett looked ready to collapse with relief as the foursome grabbed their usual table at Kelly's. Elizabeth quickly followed suit, her elbows hitting the table with a dull thud. It was late afternoon and the four of them had spent all day shopping – or rather, Brenda and Elizabeth had spent all day shopping for last minute knick-knacks. Sonny and Jason were already done, a minor detail they never missed the opportunity to point out. And after going through list upon list, all of the girls' necessary items were stowed away in multiple shopping bags in Jason's trunk and backseat.

"Let's never do that again," Elizabeth wheezed, dropping her forehead onto her arms. "If I have to buy one more pair of bathroom flip-flops or any more underwear, I'm going to scream."

"Hey, think of it this way – the more underwear you have, the less often you have to do laundry," Brenda contributed, immediately reaching for the cheese fries that a waitress set on their table.

Jason frowned at her as he reached for his soda. "That's disgusting."

Brenda just crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him, leaving the sandy-haired boy to scowl at his burger. "Anyway, how nice was it of your dad to do some of your shopping for you?"

"Very nice," Elizabeth agreed emphatically. "He hasn't been freaking out at all – if I wasn't getting so much stuff out of the deal, I'd be worried. He spent two hours online last week looking up the perfect microwave for me to take to school."

"Lois is taking care of that for us," her best friend announced, referring to her roommate for the upcoming school year at NYU. "I'm in charge of the TV and DVD player – no sweat, since I'm just taking my own."

Jason frowned at her. "So tell me, Brenda – you shipping off to a vacation resort or going to school?"

"Stuff it, Morgan," she retorted, making a point of stealing some of his curly fries just to upset him. "You'll be sorry when you're sitting alone, bored out of your mind, in your barely furnished dorm room and we're watching special DVD editions of the Brady Bunch Variety Hour."

The boy opened his mouth and then snapped it shut, shaking his head. "There's so much wrong with that statement that I just don't know where to begin."

"I wonder what my roommate will be like," Elizabeth mused aloud, swirling a cheese-covered fry in a blob of ketchup. "Lily Rivera. Pretty name, isn't it?"

Sonny's dark brows furrowed together. "You mean, you haven't talked to her yet?"

"Well, we've emailed back and forth to make sure we don't double up on stuff," Elizabeth explained, "but we've been playing phone tag something terrible. I haven't been able to get a hold of her, nor her me." She popped her fry into her mouth with a little shrug. "Well, I guess I'll find out next week, huh?"

"I hope she's as cool as Lois," Brenda announced helpfully, stealing a pickle off Jason's plate and kicking him under the table when he tried to swat her hand. "Lois Cerullo. Kick-ass chick from Brooklyn – I think I'm in love with her."

"And that's enough for me," Jason sighed, tossing a crumpled napkin on the table. He attempted to get up and away from Brenda's random off-beat comments, but was shoved back in his seat by Elizabeth.

"You're just nervous because you haven't heard crap from your roommate," Brenda snipped. "Already, the two of you seem perfect for each other."

Jason scowled and Sonny chose the moment to quickly intercede. "What's the guy's name again?"

"Goes by Jagger, I think."

"As in Mick?" Brenda chirped, pulling her buzzing phone out of her purse.

Jason rolled his eyes. "Yes, Brenda, as in Mick. I'm rooming with a Stone."

"Probably – that stuff comes easy once you hit the dorms," the brunette joked, giggling to herself. "Lots of leafy things to smoke."

"Okay, let's see," Sonny cut in once more, pointing at his girlfriend. "Lois Cerullo, cool Brooklyn chick, right?" She nodded and he moved to Elizabeth. "Lily Rivera, pretty name and not much else known, right?" When it was confirmed, he moved to Jason. "Some dude named Jagger, no last name or anything else." His best friend nodded and Sonny pointed to himself. "Francis Corelli, computer geek. Yup, I think we're all covered."

Elizabeth smirked and reached for her soda. "So, for the next ten months, here's to driving _someone else_ insane for a change."

* * *

The scene in the Webber dining room was something out of a Da Vinci painting – it was the Last Supper. Well, minus Jesus Christ and a handful of disciples.

Jeff sat at the head of the table, as usual, Caroline to his right and Sarah next to her, with Elizabeth on his left. Everything was as it always was, though this was no ordinary dinner. It didn't start at seven on the dot; conversation wasn't sparse; food wasn't delivered methodically to the mouth; dishes weren't picked up immediately and deposited in the dishwasher.

Instead, dinner began once Jeff, Caroline, and the two Webber girls were finished loading all of Elizabeth's stuff into the car for the drive down to Columbia in the morning. Everything was packed away in the minivan Jeff had rented for the weekend, and Elizabeth's room was almost bare except for her bed, dresser and desk. And when dinner began, it lasted much longer than it usually did. The four of them spent more time talking than they did eating, and they lounged in their seats for a long while after they were done, still talking and laughing together as a family.

It was everything that Jeff never remembered missing; the opportunity to sit back with his girls and just talk. He and his wife were constantly at the hospital, Sarah was always at school, and now Elizabeth would be leaving, too. It was moments like this that reminded him just how much of their lives he and Caroline had missed.

But today, there were happy overtones to the depressing realization. He got to sit back and watch Elizabeth's blue eyes twinkle as she laughed; he got to watch Sarah toss her long blonde hair over her shoulders as she teased the youngest Webber; he got to watch his wife watch the girls with a look on her face that he was sure mirrored his own.

It was already dark when they finally got up and cleared the dishes away. Elizabeth was sent out of the room to make sure the keys to the van were somewhere in the living room – thus preventing a frustrating occurrence the next morning – and she watched curiously as her father reached for the telephone. Something in his demeanor made her suspicious, but she soon forgot about it as she continued to search for the keys.

She had just located them twenty minutes later on the floor of the coat closet when the doorbell rang. A smug looking Jeff smiled at her as he entered the foyer to open it, and Elizabeth looked up in surprise as the four Morgans entered her house.

Her boyfriend slid her a confused look and she just shrugged before greeting his parents and little AJ. The young boy quickly ran off to the den to watch television – one of the few means of entertainment he found in the house – and Jeff invited the family in. Boston University started the same day as Columbia, so Jason was leaving in the morning as well. His family would be driving him down there, staying for the day to help him move, and then he'd have Student Orientation the same day as Elizabeth and the both of them would begin classes the next day. Sonny and Brenda didn't have such a rushed schedule; they were leaving tomorrow as well but had a week-long Orientation period, and then classes after that. Still, they'd all be together in the morning before they headed off.

"Dad, what's going on?" Elizabeth's dark eyes darted suspiciously from her mother to her father. "I mean, not that I'm not happy to see you," she added for the benefit of Jason's parents. "But what's going on?"

Jeff opened his mouth to answer, but the doorbell cut him off. "I'd better get that," he replied smugly, pulling the door open only to reveal Sonny and his parents. "Why, hello there!"

"Daaaaaad."

Adella smirked at Elizabeth, stepping into the foyer with her husband and son as Jeff rolled his eyes. "I thought since it's…your last night here," he gestured vaguely to the foyer and the three teenagers gathered there. "That it might be nice to see your friends the night before."

She could have melted right there. Jeff watched as a large smile bloomed across her face, making her eyes twinkle, and he had just awkwardly cleared his throat in preparation to say something equally awkward when the doorbell interrupted him once again.

"We're here!" Brenda announced, stating the obvious as she waltzed into the foyer followed by her parents.

"Come on in, come on in," Caroline grinned, ushering the large group out of the foyer. "Elizabeth, some of your other friends should be joining us soon, so be sure to keep an eye on the door. You kids go into the family room – we'll be here in the kitchen."

Jason was already opening the screen door that led out onto the patio to let in the soft summer night breeze as the rest of his friends dropped onto the couch. The adults retreated to the eat-in kitchen with wine and other refreshments, and Elizabeth was left standing in the threshold of the family room, thinking about how sweet it was of her parents to share their last night together with her friends.

She didn't have long to stand and muse, though – the doorbell rang just then and Brenda trotted barefoot into the foyer to answer it. Before long, their closest friends were assembled in the cozy family room with enough food to feed an army; Luke and Taggert were first to arrive, then came Jenny, Emily, Carol, Felicia, Brendan, Lexi Cassidine, Sydney, Michael Quartermaine and Ace. It was a small bunch but they more than made up for it in terms of noise.

It was an easy, laid-back gathering and the teenagers spent most of the time talking and eating, with reruns of Saturday Night Live providing more than adequate background noise.

Caroline winced when she heard a loud thump come from the family room, followed by Sonny's loud declaration that everything was fine. The inky black summer sky just outside the kitchen window looked incredibly inviting, and she suggested that they all take their drinks outside. The other adults agreed and before long, they were all settled on the front porch.

It was probably the first time that all eight of them assembled together, despite the fact that their children were so close. Jeff and Caroline had met Sonny's parents at several school functions since Elizabeth and Sonny worked so closely together, and the Corinthos' family knew the Barretts pretty well due to Sonny and Brenda also 'working' closely together. Alan and Jeff were close friends for decades, and even though they had drifted apart a few years ago, it wasn't difficult for them to get back into the old swing of things. Other than that, they had never all met together at once. The Morgans barely knew the Barretts, and Jeff and Caroline's relationship with Mike and Adella was that of acquaintances.

And that was why Caroline was so pleased that the evening had turned out this way; it seemed to fit that they should all be spending the evening together when their children would be heading out in the morning. Everything had come together and found them under the stars, reminiscing about baby teeth and disastrous first days of school. Everything had come together.

While they talked, wine in hand, it wasn't unusual for one of the kids to linger in the foyer, talking to Elizabeth or one of the others, before announcing to the adults that they were heading home. The small bunch had dwindled down to a handful by the time they got up to head back inside. Jeff held the door open and the adults trailed into the house, shuffling past the rows of shoes still lining the little throw rug in the foyer.

Caroline was last, her empty glass dangling from her fingers, and for some reason, the sight of all those shoes – sneakers, clogs, flip-flops, heeled sandals – made her stop dead in her tracks. Jeff frowned curiously at his wife when he noticed her pale blue eyes, misty now with tears, trailing over each shoe in turn.

"Honey?"

Hayden and Adella turned around as well when Jeff made his way to his wife, and Alan and Monica lingered in the entranceway to the formal living room, watching the scene curiously.

Caroline just crossed her arms over her chest, lifting one hand to cover her mouth. A sad sigh escaped her lips as she furiously swiped away a few tears that dared to tumble down her cheeks. "Their shoes. Look at all their little shoes."

The tension left Jeff's shoulders as he realized what his wife meant. Wordlessly, and not even caring that they were in front of company, he pulled her into his arms and tucked her head under his chin. From the living room, Jason and Brenda's voices could be heard as the twosome yelled at each other, clearly having yet another disagreement.

Hayden and Monica chuckled, only slightly embarrassed at their warring children, and Adella's eyes were watery when Sonny's calm voice broke through the yelling as the boy tried to make peace between his best friend and girlfriend for the fifth time tonight. And when Elizabeth joined in to tease her boyfriend, Caroline sniffled and pulled out of her husband's embrace. He looked at her questioningly but she nodded, telling him silently that she was just fine.

It was merely a matter of indulging her sentimentality for a moment at the thought that tomorrow, those shoes would be leaving with four pairs of very young feet in them.

* * *

"I really feel sorry for you losers," Carol declared, throwing her legs over the armrest of the comfortable green couch she was currently draped across. "Still stuck with New York blizzards while I'm working on my tan down in Florida."

"Yes, and that's the fifth time you've said that tonight," Brenda reminded her, finishing off the last of her brownie. There was a faint trace of powdered sugar on her lips that Sonny promptly kissed away, prompting Jason to gag.

"Someone should get him some Lysol when he surfaces for air."

Elizabeth giggled and settled herself more comfortably in his lap. "Careful now, Jason – you don't want to start something. Took us fifteen minutes to separate you and Brenda last time."

Her sandy-haired boyfriend just rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms more snugly around her waist. "She was asking for it."

The brunette just laughed and snuggled back against his solid chest, letting her slender digits wander through his silky golden hair. Jason turned his face into her hair, letting his lips whisper over her temple before trailing downward to skirt the delicate arch of her ear. She twined their fingers together and they sat like that for a long while as Carol and Michael continued to dig into the popcorn and laugh at the old SNL clips.

Sonny and Brenda were laughing quietly together over something when Elizabeth closed her eyes and turned her face into Jason's neck. His spicy masculine scent greeted her immediately and she burrowed closer, letting out a little sigh when he tightened his grip on her. It was remarkable how comfortable and truly content she felt in his arms; how comfortable and content she felt with him in general, regardless of the situation. Jason made her feel treasured and beautiful, and always safe.

The past few weeks had been incredible, and she was sad to see them end with the introduction of school into their lives once more. She'd miss him terribly – his voice, the twinkle in his eyes, the way he held her, the way he loved her. But she never let herself linger on that for too long – they'd see each other again soon.

His lips nipped at her earlobe and she could feel the temperature in the room spike with that simple gesture. Jason never had to do very much to get her excited; as it was, she could barely resist him. Being with him was the best decision she had ever made, and she'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. And in the end, she was glad that she had waited until she did because when the moment came, she wasn't scared or uncomfortable. A little nervous about the pain, sure, but Jason knew that and proceeded gently and with caution to make sure he didn't hurt her any more than absolutely necessary.

He cherished her that night just like he did every other time they made love. And it wasn't long before Elizabeth realized subtle differences to herself since that night. Whereas public displays of affection irked her before, she was understandably more tolerant of it now. But more importantly and more noticeably, she gradually felt much more comfortable in her own skin since that night. She was aware that she wasn't completely tragic-looking, but she had never really paid that much attention to beauty and makeup and personal appearances despite the constant pressure to do so in a high school environment. Perhaps the newfound confidence was because someone else was so comfortable in her body – literally, she mused with a wicked smirk as Jason shifted underneath her – but whatever it was, she welcomed the feeling.

He nudged her temple with his nose, jarring her from her silent reverie. "Hey."

Those darling sapphire orbs lifted to his. "Hey, yourself."

"I got you something."

He could see the confusion on her face, and then Elizabeth shook her head. "Oh, Jason, you didn't have to-"

"It's nothing big," he assured her, taking her palm and pressing something into the center of it. "Look."

He withdrew his large hand and she peered at the gift he had deposited in hers. A simple hemp necklace with red glass beads dazzling a million different shades of crimson under the golden lamplight lay in her palm, and Elizabeth's lips parted on a silent gasp.

"It's beautiful," she whispered, fingering the beads. They didn't feel like the plastic ones she was used to. "Glass?"

Jason nodded once. "Grandmother had them from her last trip to Italy, and I thought you might like 'em."

Her eyes misted and without another word, Elizabeth pressed her lips to his. Jason kissed her back thoroughly, pulling her close, and they only broke apart when the need for air became too great. "I love it," she whispered against his mouth before leaning in again.

"I love _you_," he murmured in reply, tangling one hand in her curly hair and using his grip to pull her closer. "Do me a favor."

Elizabeth nodded slowly, her eyes half-closed as her lips whispered over his. "Anything."

Jason framed her face tenderly in his hands, forcing her to look him directly in the eyes. "Don't worry so much about this, okay?"

Those dark, slender brows furrowed. "Worry? I don't-"

He silenced her with a smirk and a gentle swipe of his thumbs over her porcelain cheeks. "I know you, Elizabeth, and I know you're worried about being so far apart. Don't be."

There was such quiet confidence in his voice that Elizabeth almost didn't know what to say. She closed her palm around the necklace he'd given her and rested her forehead against his, closing her eyes. "Okay."

* * *

"Is everything ready?"

Jeff rolled his eyes at his wife. "Honey, you've asked that about twenty times in the past five minutes."

"Well, excuse me for wanting our daughter to be prepared when she goes off to school!"

He couldn't help but chuckle as he tossed his keys in the air. "She's not going to Cambodia, dear, she's just going downstate."

His wife ignored that and continued scrounging through her purse. "Where is that girl, anyway? Are she and Sarah still inside? Oh, Jeff, when she comes outside, be sure to give her some more money, will you?"

Normally the request would have brought with it a torrent of protests, but Jeff simply nodded. Sarah and Elizabeth emerged from the house, carrying only their purses, as Jason's jeep pulled up in front of the house. Alan was driving, and he waved at the girls before killing the engine and getting out with his wife and two sons. Elizabeth squealed and ran into Jason's waiting arms just as Sonny and Brenda's parents simultaneously pulled up and parked on the street.

Jason spun her around once before setting her down, and Elizabeth pulled back long enough to finger the necklace around her neck – the same one he'd given her the night before. It matched her cherry red t-shirt and the cloth belt she had looped in through the beltloops of her frayed denim shorts, and Jason nodded his approval. She was grinning by the time he lowered his lips to hers, and the young man took his time kissing her.

Jeff watched them uneasily, doing his best to keep quiet. Steve appeared at his side like a phantom, his chuckling taunts echoing in Jeff's ears before he and Audrey shuffled off to talk to Alan and Monica. The doctor rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. If he forced himself to be completely honest, he'd have to admit that his best friend's son wasn't half bad. And he certainly made Elizabeth happy, so that was probably all that mattered. Still…with the way the gangly deviant was kissing his little girl, Jeff couldn't help but glance longingly at the garden hose.

Caroline was still going through the final checklist and practically hyperventilating while she was at it, all the while muttering that it hadn't been this bad when Sarah had left home. Mike and Hayden made last-minute travel plans to stop for lunch before they arrived at NYU because one of them would be following the other. Brenda's fingers were laced through Sonny's as the two of them walked up to Jason and Elizabeth who stood together by the rented van.

They stood in silence for a few minutes, just looking at each other, and Elizabeth was the first to break it when she sniffled and pulled Brenda into a hug. That started the waterworks as far as the two girls went, and Sonny and Jason were left to awkwardly shuffle their feet and wonder when the sprinkler system would turn off. Monica smiled when the two boys finally shook hands and gave in to the prospect of a hug, being sure to clap each other on the back a few times to make sure they were being as masculine as possible.

Elizabeth hugged Sonny goodbye, leaving Brenda to mince on one foot then the other as Jason stared blandly at her. Finally, after he was sure she was sufficiently uncomfortable, Jason rolled his eyes and lifted his hands at the elbow. That was all the tall brunette needed, and with a squeal she launched herself into Jason's arms and proceeded to squeeze him until he was sure he'd choke.

"Aw, you _do_ love me!" she crowed, pinching his cheeks as he struggled to get away. "I knew it! Give in to your feelings, Jason!"

"Bren, that's enough," Elizabeth laughed, managing to insinuate herself between the two of them. "What do you want to do – kill him?"

"With kindness," she grinned, blowing air kisses at the disgusted young man. Sonny laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist, swinging her away from Jason as Elizabeth helped keep him back.

"Brenda! Come on, Buttercup, it's time to go!" Hayden Barrett was waving to his little girl, beckoning her over to the car.

"Michael, come on, now, son!"

"Beth, we'll be leaving soon, too, sweetheart."

That had quite the sobering effect on the foursome, and they said their last goodbyes as their parents started the cars. Sonny and Brenda walked off, hand in hand, a little nervous about the upcoming school year but relieved that they'd still be together at NYU. Jason glanced back to see AJ already hopping in the jeep, then turned back to Elizabeth.

It was time.

She barely had time to sniffle before his warm lips found hers in a soft, lingering kiss. The brunette kissed him back earnestly, wrapping her arms around his neck and letting him fold her up in his arms. Her tongue delved into his mouth and danced with his, as if trying to memorize his taste and hold on. When he pulled back, they were both panting for breath.

Closing his eyes, Jason pressed a loving kiss to her forehead. "I'll see you later."

**The End.**

* * *

**Author's Note: **First of all, I'd like to thank everyone that has consistently replied to this story, as well as anyone who has ever replied, and of course, those who have lurked without replying. I really appreciate the sentiments you've all expressed.

That being said, I have something I need to get off my chest. I hate this story. I hate it. I can't stand to look at it. I know lots of you love it and I don't mean to offend anyone by this; it's just what I honestly feel. Looking back on this story, I see nothing but mistakes. If anything, this is an exercise in how NOT to write a fanfiction story. And I guess, in a warped, twisted way, that makes this a worthwhile endeavor in its own right.

I was fairly young when I started this, and I often think back and wish I had never written it. As I said before, there are so many glaring mistakes in this that it makes me cringe whenever I think of it.

For this reason, I am embarking on a sequel. It shall be called _Tales from Gotham_ and shall center on the same four characters. I wish to refrain from calling it 'the college years' and favor instead 'the adult years'. The only reason I'm doing a sequel is so that I may attempt to shoddily rectify the mistakes made in this story. The characters I have chosen were not 'in character' for the majority of the story, and I'd like to be able to change that.

In TFG, which I hope to release soon after finishing off another one of my stories, you will be shown, for example, what becomes of Jason's decision to go into business. You'll see Elizabeth discover a hidden talent; you'll see Brenda capitalize on something she's always had; you'll see what becomes of Sunshine Boy Sonny Corinthos. Every character will be brought around to what they inherently are, and I think it shall be quite a satisfying way to finish this slipshod attempt at a story.

Thanks again to all my lovely readers; I may not be too fond of this story, but there is no doubt that I really enjoyed sharing it with _you_.


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